1579 Ortelius Map of Cuba, the Caribbean, and Northwestern Mexico

This is an attractive, original-color example of Ortelius' 1579 map of the Viceroyalty of Culiacan in Northwestern Mexico, and Ortelius' map of Cuba and the Caribbean. While Ortelius is generally most esteemed as an editor and compiler of maps, he was an accomplished mapmaker in his own right, and this map is among those of his Theatrum of his own composition, synthesizing data drawn from Mercator's 1569 world map, Gutierrez's 1562 America map and Alonso de Santa Cruz's 1560 Isolario (sources now unobtainable by the collector). These maps, both of essential areas of recent exploration in the New World, exemplify Ortelius' trail-blazing cartographic work.

Culiacán and Northwestern Mexico

The upper of the two maps on this sheet brings into sharp focus the Viceroyalty of Culiacan, in the modern Mexican state of Sinaloa. The modern city of Culiacán appears here as the Villa San Michaelis, which was founded in 1531 by Lázaro de Cebreros and Nuño Beltrán de Guzmán. The region had been organized under the tribe of the Tahues. Following a war of conquest, the Spanish reorganized area into in three provinces: Culiacán Sonora and Sinaloa. The region was further explored by Coronado and Alarcón in the 1540s. It was the furthest point north explored by Cortez in his search for the Seven Cities of Gold. The map shows a multiplicity of pre-Spanish settlements, surrounding the two Spanish colonial towns of Culiacán and San Miguel de Culiacán. Mountain ranges and palm groves appear as well.

Not California

The coastal region today is marked by barrier islands, which are likewise depicted on this map - in a formation sometimes misidentified as an insular California. (This myth would not take hold on maps until the next century.) The body of water beyond the barrier islands - Sinus Caleforniae shows that the Baja Peninsula would appear outside the western border of the map.

Cuba and the Caribbean

The map of Cuba and the Caribbean is superbly detailed, and includes part of Florida, the Bahamas, and a glimpse of Yucatán. The principal cities of the islands are shown. The map is centered on Cuba and Hispaniola. The treacherous waters of the Bahamas islands are marked with the infamous Homeric terrors of Scylla and Carybdis, showing that the islands' perilous shallows and reefs were already infamous. The beautifully engraved oceans are decorated with two sailing ships.

An Oblique Credit?

The stylistic differences between the two maps is striking: Culiacanae's waters are stippled, typical of Ortelius' other maps. The waves of the Caribbean show the style of Ortelius' colleague and contemporary, Mercator, perhaps suggesting that Ortelius' source for this part of the map was Mercator's 1569 wall map. This hint is supported as well by Ortelius' use of the place name 'Aiti' in Hispaniola, a term used on Mercator's map but not on other contemporary maps of the island.

Publication History and Census

The map was produced for inclusion in Ortelius' Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first appearing in 1579 editions of the work. Based on the verso text, this first state example can be identified as having been included in the 1584 Latin edition of Ortelius' atlas. Van den Broecke estimates that approximately 5875 copies of this map in all editions were printed for inclusion in Ortelius' atlas, and it is fair to assume that perhaps ten percent of these have survived in one form or another. The map is well represented in institutional collections; the map appears on the market with some regularity with wild variations in condition.