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Source Description
In comparison with DeWit's large wall map, this map purports to show the newest and most accurate information about the Americas. However, the geographic information presented here is not much different from the earlier map, especially in its perpetuation of the "California as an island" myth. All the source regions for Florida's recent immigration--Canada, Mexico, the West Indies, and northern South America--are included on both maps. While these regions have been depicted as separate geographic entities, there is an underlying reminder that they are extensions of European colonial powers: the southwestern tip of Europe (the Iberian peninsula) appears on the right edge of the map, not quite out of sight, while the use of certain place names reflects European relocation--Hispania Nova (Mexico and Central America), Nova Francia (Canada's St. Lawrence region), or Nova Britagna (Canada's Hudson Bay region). In addition, the map's iconography reinforces this interpretation, especially the upper left plaque, where an angel and a female figure bearing a cross symbolize the Christianizing of the native peoples, and in the lower left cartouche which shows natives bringing the wealth of the land (gold bars and baskets of grain) to an Indian chieftain, representing the European economic exploitation of the continent's mineral and agricultural wealth.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
x633f915s
label
Novissima et accuratissima totius Americae descriptio
core
obj
dtoType
map
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
x633f915s
contentType
map
stage
normalized
title
Novissima et accuratissima totius Americae descriptio
description
In comparison with DeWit's large wall map, this map purports to show the newest and most accurate information about the Americas. However, the geographic information presented here is not much different from the earlier map, especially in its perpetuation of the "California as an island" myth. All the source regions for Florida's recent immigration--Canada, Mexico, the West Indies, and northern South America--are included on both maps. While these regions have been depicted as separate geographic entities, there is an underlying reminder that they are extensions of European colonial powers: the southwestern tip of Europe (the Iberian peninsula) appears on the right edge of the map, not quite out of sight, while the use of certain place names reflects European relocation--Hispania Nova (Mexico and Central America), Nova Francia (Canada's St. Lawrence region), or Nova Britagna (Canada's Hudson Bay region). In addition, the map's iconography reinforces this interpretation, especially the upper left plaque, where an angel and a female figure bearing a cross symbolize the Christianizing of the native peoples, and in the lower left cartouche which shows natives bringing the wealth of the land (gold bars and baskets of grain) to an Indian chieftain, representing the European economic exploitation of the continent's mineral and agricultural wealth.
date
["[1670?]"]
year
1670
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
Latin
identifierLocal
05_04_000097
creators
Wit, Frederik de.
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
subjects
America--Maps--Early works to 1800
North America--Maps--Early works to 1800
South America--Maps--Early works to 1800
Central America--Maps--Early works to 1800
subjectsGeographic
America
Mesoamerica
North America
North and Central America
South America
genreBasic
Maps
typeOfResource
Cartographic
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
pageCount
1
source
import
pubPlace
Amstelodami
publisher
[s.n.]
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
41688024w
schema:latitude
42.284495
schema:longitude
-101.123047
extent
1 map : hand col. ; 54 x 63 cm.
notes
Relief shown pictorially.
Includes ill.
California shown as an island with irregular coastline and islands on both sides.
Does not include the additional islands on lower left of map that were added in later editions.
Featured in the Faces & Places Exhibit, Kravis Center, Palm Beach, FL, since 2005. MB (BRL)
hasTranscription
no
dcId
x633f915s
type
map
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
1e6fa8178c0b72d7