Acapulco, cen Stadt in Nieu Spanige, gelegen aen de zuidzee, newens het flotS. Diego/Aquapulco sive Accapulco Hispanieae novae civitas..

Title

Acapulco, cen Stadt in Nieu Spanige, gelegen aen de zuidzee, newens het flotS. Diego/Aquapulco sive Accapulco Hispanieae novae civitas..

Description

Map shows the city of Acapulco as bird´s eye view

ca. 1700

Artist

Schenk (1660-1718)

Petrus Schenck, (1660 – 1711) was a German engraver and cartographer active in Amsterdam and Leipzig. Valck was married to Maria Bloteling, the sister of the Amsterdam engraver Abraham Bloteling. In 1687 Schenk married Gerard's sister Agatha Valck. In 1694, together with Valck, he bought some of the copperplates of the artdealer and cartographer Johannes Janssonius. Along with Valck and Bloteling, he produced prints for the London market, though it is not known if he ever went there with them.

Historical Description

The Spanish first learned of Mexico during the Juan de Grijalva expedition of 1518. The Spanish conquest of the Aztec Empire began in February 1519 when Hernán Cortés arrived at the port in Veracruz with ca. 500 conquistadores. After taking control of that city, he moved on to the Aztec capital. In his search for gold and other riches, Cortés decided to invade and conquer the Aztec empire. When the Spaniards arrived, the ruler of the Aztec empire was Moctezuma II, who was later killed. His successor and brother Cuitláhuac took control of the Aztec empire, but was among the first to fall from the first smallpox epidemic in the area a short time later. The capture of Tenochtitlan and refounding of Mexico City in 1521 was the beginning of a 300-year-long colonial era during which Mexico was known as Nueva España (New Spain). The Kingdom of New Spain was created from the remnants of the Aztec hegemonic empire. Subsequent enlargements, such as the conquest of the Tarascan state, resulted in the creation of the Viceroyalty of New Spain in 1535. The Viceroyalty at its greatest extent included the territories of modern Mexico, Central America as far south as Costa Rica, and the western United States. The Viceregal capital Mexico City also administrated the Spanish West Indies (the Caribbean), the Spanish East Indies (the Philippines), and Spanish Florida.