Posted on 11/13/2015 5:37:41 AM PST by NYer
The first time America was called America. (All Images from The Library of Congress)
The Universalis Cosmographia, a 1507 cartographic exploration of the known world, depicted the New World as two entirely separate continents. This was quite a revolutionary stance on the early days of the Age of Discovery: many people still believed that the New World was connected to Asia. Although we now know that North and South America are a single continent, this ambitious map by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller is rightfully revered for giving America its name.
The wide wall map was originally printed in a gorgeous tome of cartographic illustrations and gores (maps designed to be cut out and pasted to a sphere to make a globe), now known as the Schöner Sammelband, or “beautiful miscellany." Compiled in the early 16th century, the book held a handful of then-contemporary maps between its wooden covers.Â
Universalis Cosmographia
After centuries away from the public eye, the impressive collection was rediscovered in 1901 when a Jesuit scholar found it sitting in the collection of a German prince. But even before the Schöner Sammelband came to light again, it had been the subject of much speculation. Waldseemüller’s map was the first to incorporate the exploratory findings of Amerigo Vespucci, who first demonstrated that the newly discovered coasts of the New World were part of their own separate land mass, and not just another part of Asia.
Honoring Vespucci’s findings, Waldseemüller’s map named the new continent “America,†after the Latin feminine construction of the explorer’s name. The rest of the map was based on other extant maps and sources from the time, and was created as an updated version of the Ptolemaic map of the world, its curved edges meant to mimic the planet’s sphere.
Universalis Cosmographia
However, Waldseemüller’s conception of the land itself, as two separate continents (connected by an isthmus, in a thumbnail map capping the larger map), was not quite right, as we now know. In the accompanying text released with the map, known as the Cosmographiae Introductio, it was noted that the discovery of America meant that the Earth was composed of four major parts: Europe, Asia, Africa, and the New World.Â
Nonetheless, the map made a splash and became quite well known in its day, with somewhere near a thousand copies printed. It was originally released in 12 separate pages that could be laid out to form the larger map image. The only known copy of the Universalis Cosmographia, the one found in the Schöner Sammelband, is now held in the Library of Congress in Washington D.C. A full-size replica is on display and can be seen in the Treasures Gallery, its pages seamlessly cobbled together.
Ping!
I was always partial to Vespuchiland myself.
How did the cartographer know the general outline of western south america? Magellan didn’t get passed the straits of magellan till 1520. Who was there before?
Nice! Interesting to see the rivers ‘named’, along the Eastern coast.
I know it was named after Amerigo (go Italians!) :)
I wonder how America came about from that name.
And to be honest, I have to read up why it was named after him.
Lots of explorers here at the time.
I have no doubt anymore that there is no question that cannot be answered on this board. :)
Ping!
If discovered today, no one would be allowed to enter it as it would be declared official green space and subject to UN mandates.
“we now know that North and South America are a single continent”
By that reasoning, we have AfroEurAsia as well.
How did the cartographer know the general outline of western south america? Magellan didn’t get passed the straits of magellan till 1520. Who was there before?...
Always wondered that myself with these old maps. How did they know the relative size of everything?
Pedro Ãlvares Cabral
According to the article:
Honoring Vespucci's findings, Waldseem's map named the new continent "America" after the Latin feminine construction of the explorer's name.
Not sure why FR's software is replacing punctuation with characters but perhaps that is why you missed it.
Vespucci was not in command of an expedition but simply a passenger. There is a painting in Florence by Ghirlandaio which is thought to include him.
Columbus did see both continents (a bit of the coast of Venezuela, and a bit of the coast of Central America). He died in 1506, the year before Waldseemueller's map. Vespucci lived until 1512.
When Australia and Antarctica were discovered, they were also given feminine names.
Bkmrk.
Would be quiet the lifetime adventure to take off on small slow leaky wind powered craft using such a map!
The story I read was that a guy had an old map and saw a name on it similar to America so he changed his name so it would look like he named it after himself. The Mayans and others were here long before “White people”.
wow. thanks
no, i missed it because i’m a nervous NYCer who never takes things nice and slow and never reads things slowly and thoroughly.
I will change that and start to enjoy the articles :)
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