Granata et Murcia regna

  • Translation

Article ID EUE1162

Title

Granata et Murcia regna

Description

Map shows Granada, Murcia, partly Andalusia, two wind roses, a naval battle, two coats of arms, a title cartouche and a mileage scale cartouche.

Year

ca. 1610

Artist

Blaeu (1571-1638)

Joan Guilliemus Blaeu was the eldest son of Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638), and was probably born in Alkmaar in the province of Noord-Holland in the final years of the 16th century. He was brought up in Amsterdam, and studied law at the University of Leiden before going into partnership with his father in the 1630s. Although his father Willem had cartographic interests, having studied under the Danish astronomer Tycho Brahe and having manufactured globes and instruments, his primary business was as a printer. It was under the control of Joan that the Blaeu printing press achieved lasting fame by moving towards the printing of maps and expanding to become the largest printing press in Europe in the 17th century. By the 1660s the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (or Atlas Maior as it had became known by this time) had expanded to between 9 and 12 volumes, depending on the language. With over 3,000 text pages and approximately 600 maps, it was the most expensive book money could buy in the later 17th century. The translation of the text from Latin into Dutch, English, German, French, and Spanish for several volumes created enormous work for those involved in typography and letterpress activities. It is estimated that over 80 men must have been employed full-time in the Blaeu printing house in Bloemgracht, not including engravers who worked elsewhere, with over 15 printing presses running simultaneously, and in 1667 a second press was acquired at Gravenstraat. At the same time as producing the Atlas Maior, Blaeu was also publishing town plans of Italy, maps for globes, and other volumes. At its peak the Blaeu press managed to produce over 1 million impressions from 1,000 copper plates within four years.

Historical Description

Granada is the capital of the province of Granada in Andalusia. After the conquest of the Iberian Peninsula by the Romans, a settlement with the name Illiberis is documented. After the collapse of the Roman Empire, the area initially came under the influence of the North African Vandal Empire, was under Eastern Roman rule for several decades after its collapse in 534, then belonged to the Iberian Empire of the Visigoths from the beginning of the 7th century and was then conquered by the Moors. After the fall of the Caliphate of Córdoba, the Berber clan chief Zāwī ibn Zīrī seized power in the province in 1012 and made Granada, which was easier to defend than Madīnat Ilbīra, the seat of the Zīrīden dynasty. After the expulsion of the Almohads, the city became the capital of the Sultanate of the Naṣrids, the last Muslim-Moorish dynasty of the Emirate of Granada, from 1238 to 1492. In 1246, the then ruler of Granada, Muhammad I ibn Nasr, known as Ibn Al-Ahmar, surrendered the city to the Christian powers, and after the fall of the remaining Moorish territories, many Muslims moved to the area of Granada. In 1492, the last Nasrid ruler Mohammed XII capitulated and handed the city over to Queen Isabella I of Castile and King Ferdinand II of Aragon, the so-called -Catholic Monarchs, thus completing the Reconquista, the reconquest of the Iberian Peninsula for Christianity. According to a passage in the treaty concluded at the time, the Moorish population in Granada was allowed to continue practicing their religion freely, but the Naṣrids had to leave Granada. After revolts by the Muslims who remained in Spain, the so-called Moors, against the oppression (ban on practising their religion, expropriation) by the new rulers, they were first forcibly resettled to other parts of the Iberian Peninsula in the years 1569-1571 and then expelled to Africa in 1609-1611. Many settled in what is now Tunisia and Algeria and shaped the culture there. At the same time, Granada fell into economic insignificance. Silk production, for example, for which Granada was a center in the Middle Ages, declined completely. Granada has been the seat of an archbishopric since 1492. The University of Granada was built between 1526 and 1531 and was one of Granada's main sources of income, especially in the 20th century, after the end of the Franco dictatorship, tourism became increasingly important.

Place of Publication Amsterdam
Dimensions (cm)38 x 50 cm
ConditionSome restoration at centerfold
Coloringoriginal colored
TechniqueCopper print

Reproduction:

76.50 €

( A reproduction can be ordered individually on request. )