Cartography of Magellan

Abstract

From mythical islands located in an uncertain part of the Indies, to the destination of scores of navigators, soldiers, traders, priests, and mere adventurers only decades later, the Moluccas quickly became known in Europe for their fabulous riches. So fabulous, in fact, that a radical proposal to cross half the world along a to-be-discovered route seduced the Spanish Crown. Many textual narratives of the circumnavigation have survived, but no less important is the testimony recorded in the cartography prepared before and after the mission. The journey that this work proposes will transport the reader to different historical periods and far-flung regions of the world. While written for a non-specialist audience, the book likewise offers new interpretations and reveals the results of in situ examinations of original manuscripts. Probing the interface between science and art, the Cartography of Magellan tells the story of the first voyage around the world through a privileged graphical witness: nautical cartography.