A chart of the coast of Brazil and Guiana in America with part of the Caribbe Islands

  • Translation

Article ID AMS0820

Title

A chart of the coast of Brazil and Guiana in America with part of the Caribbe Islands

Description

Map shows the northern part of Brasil.

Year

ca. 1728

Artist

Senex (1678-1740)

John Senex (1678, London – died 1740, London) was an English cartographer, engraver and explorer. He was also an astrologer, geologist, and geographer to Queen Anne of Great Britain, editor and seller of antique maps and most importantly creator of the pocket-size map of the world. He owned a business on Fleet Street, where he sold maps. A map of Rome by John Senex (1721). He was in particular, one of the principal cartographers of the 18th century. He started his apprenticeship with Robert Clavell, at the Stationers Company, in 1692. Senex is famous for his maps of the world, some of which have added elevations, and which feature minuscule detailed engravings. Many of these maps can be found in museum collections; rarely, copies are available for private sale. Some copies are held in the National Maritime Museum; many of his maps are now in the possession of Trinity College Dublin. Having worked and collaborated with Charles Price, Senex created a series of engravings for the London Almanacs and in 1714 he published together with Maxwell an English Atlas. In 1719 he published a miniature edition of Brittania by Ogilby. He became particularly interested in depicting California as an island instead of part of mainland North America, a trait which makes many of his maps appealing to collectors. In 1721 he published a new general atlas. He used the work of cartographer Guillaume de L’Isle as an influence. In 1728 Senex was elected into the Fellowship of the Royal Society of London.

Historical Description

The oldest traces of human life were found in the Caverna da Pedra Pintada in the state of Piauí. The early inhabitants fundamentally changed the ecosystem of the Amazon basin by planting certain types of plants and improving the soil. Their settlements - for example on the huge river island of Marajó - were far larger than long thought. In the province of Mato Grosso there were numerous planned locations where fish farming and agriculture were practiced until around 1500. The cities, which were up to 60 hectares in size, were connected by a road network - although in most areas the canoe was the means of transportation - there were dams and artificial ponds. As in many places in America, the people of the Xingu are believed to have been victims of the epidemic, especially smallpox. The indigenous peoples in Brazil lived partly from hunting, fishing and gathering, as well as from the fragile ecosystem of adapted soil management. A large part of the local population died in the course of European colonization, mostly from imported diseases, but also as a result of forced labor or enslavement. The majority of the Indians living outside the rainforest, especially in the cities, were assimilated insofar as they survived violence and epidemics and mingled with European immigrants. Already in 1494 Portugal and Spain decided to divide South America in the Tordesillas Treaty. Because the line had been agreed in ignorance of the coastline of the New World, the (at that time still generally unknown) eastern tip of South America also belonged to Portugal. The prerequisite for a legitimate possession was the consequent catholization of the locals. The period from 1500 to 1530 was marked by bartering with the locals. In 1549, today's Salvador da Bahia (São Salvador da Bahía de Todos os Santos) was named the capital. From 1530, native Indians were brought to the coast from inland who had to do the work on the sugar cane plantations in the northeast. Many of them died because of hard work, persecution, and indigenous susceptibility to European diseases. The colonialists then tried to replace the lost labor with slaves from Africa.

Place of Publication London
Dimensions (cm)49,5 x 59,5
ConditionLower margin perfectly restored
Coloringoriginal colored
TechniqueCopper print

Reproduction:

72.00 €

( A reproduction can be ordered individually on request. )