1593 De Jode Map of South America and the Caribbean

This is Cornelis De Jode's 1593 map of South America, the second, full-size map of the area to appear in an atlas, predated only by the 1578 map produced by the elder De Jode. This rare map, printed in a single edition, outstripped contemporaneous efforts by De Bry and Ortelius in terms of accuracy and beauty. The map covers from Central America and the Caribbean to embrace all of South America; beyond the Strait of Magellan Tierra del Fuego appears, not as a small island or archipelago but extending into a massive 'Terra Australis.' The Amazon River is shown, along with the notation that its denizens practiced cannibalism (Vespucci's sensationalistic description to this effect had long legs; note also the cannibal scene adorning Brazil.)

El Dorado?

This is the first printed map of South America to show the location of the mythical Lake of El Dorado, printed two years before Sir Walter Raleigh's expedition to Guiana seeking out that place's reputed fabulous riches. The fabled lake is shown here as the source of the Paraguay River, sharing the future supposed location of the similarly-fabledLaguna de Xarayes in the vicinity of the vast Pantanal flood plain. Later missionaries and chroniclers, particularly Díaz de Guzman, imagined an island in this lake but we do not see such an island appear on a map in this region until the Hondius America of 1606. In time, Sir Walter Raleigh's account of the discovery of Guiana (and his assurances that gold could be had there) would take hold and depictions of El Dorado would be associated not with the source of the Paraguay, but with the massive legendary lake Parime in Guyana near the headwaters of the Orinoco River.

A Wealth of Descriptive Detail

In addition to the finely-engraved place names throughout the map, De Jode includes Latin descriptions of the people, (noting the seasonal attacks by Brazilian tribes on their neighbors, and the Patagonian giants encountered by Magellan's voyage) and animals, such as the giant Hogfish (whose flesh is said to be very beneficial); the Alois, a fish without scales (which resembles something between a goose and a plesiosaur) a beast with the front part of a fox and the hind part of a monkey; and a beast that neither eats nor drinks but subsists only on wind.

Richly Embellished

Cornelis understood that improved detail would be insufficient to challenge Ortelius' place in the market, and anticipated the mapmakers of the Dutch Golden age by including in his maps an abundance of images to better show what the places his maps depicted were like. In addition to illustrations of the beasts and people described on the map, there are figures representing natives - mostly appearing to be warlike, some actively in battle with helmeted conquistadors. The settlement depicted in the region of Brazil, upon closer inspection, proves to be a cannibal scene. The sea is decorated with monsters, flying fish, native war canoes, and sailing ships - some locked in battle.

Publication History and Census

This map is rare. It was engraved for inclusion in Cornelius De Jode's Speculum Orbis Terrae which was published in a sole edition of 1593. The map was not reprinted, the plates having been acquired from De Jode's widow by Ortelius' executor, Vrients, and destroyed to remove them from the market. This separate map appears in only 7 listings in OCLC. Perhaps a dozen examples of the Speculum appear in institutional collections.