IIII. Imagines u tabulae, ad historiam itineris… Quid dn. Francisco draken non procula a Rio de Platta acciderit.

Title

IIII. Imagines u tabulae, ad historiam itineris… Quid dn. Francisco draken non procula a Rio de Platta acciderit.

Illustration shows the reception of the natives when the fleet of Mr. Francis Drake docked at the river Rio de la Plata (Argentina/Uruguay). They welcomed them with dancing and the next moment they took his hat and disappeared. Rare

ca. 1600

Artist

Bry, de (1528-1598)

Theodor de Bry (1528–1598) was a Frankfurt-based engraver and publisher who, beginning in 1590, produced two of the most important early modern travel collections: the West Indian (America) and East Indian voyages. Richly illustrated with copper engravings and published in both German and Latin, these works were aimed at a European audience. With the help of his sons, Johann Theodor and Johann Israel, de Bry published six volumes before his death. The project was continued by his descendants until 1634, ultimately comprising 25 volumes with over 1,500 engravings. In 1594, he famously depicted Columbus's arrival in the New World. The West Indian series (1590–1618) chronicled the European discovery and conquest of the Americas, while the East Indian series followed the rise of Dutch trade power in Asia around 1600.

Historical Description

One of the earliest known South American civilizations was at Norte Chico, on the central Peruvian coast. Though a pre-ceramic culture, the monumental architecture of Norte Chico is contemporaneous with the pyramids of Ancient Egypt. In 1494, Portugal and Spain, the two great maritime European powers of that time, on the expectation of new lands being discovered in the west, signed the Treaty of Tordesillas, by which they agreed, with the support of the Pope, that all the land outside Europe should be an exclusive duopoly between the two countries. Beginning in the 1530s, the people and natural resources of South America were repeatedly exploited by foreign conquistadors, first from Spain and later from Portugal. These competing colonial nations claimed the land and resources as their own and divided it in colonies. The Spaniards were committed to convert their native subjects to Christianity and were quick to purge any native cultural practices that hindered this end; however, many initial attempts at this were only partially successful, as native groups simply blended Catholicism with their established beliefs and practices. Furthermore, the Spaniards brought their language to the degree they did with their religion, although the Roman Catholic Church's evangelization in Quechua, Aymara, and Guaraní actually contributed to the continuous use of these native languages albeit only in the oral form. Guyana was first a Dutch, and then a British colony, though there was a brief period during the Napoleonic Wars when it was colonized by the French. The country was once partitioned into three parts, each being controlled by one of the colonial powers until the country was finally taken over fully by the British. The first South American country to abolish slavery was Chile in 1823, Uruguay in 1830, Bolivia in 1831, Colombia and Ecuador in 1851, Argentina in 1853, Peru and Venezuela in 1854, Paraguay in 1869, and in 1888 Brazil was the last South American nation and the last country in western world to abolish slavery.