Map of South America

  • Translation

Article ID AMS201

Title

Map of South America

Description

Map of South America with a decorative cartouche and a view of 'Potosi' (Peru).

Year

ca. 1710

Artist

Moll (1654-1732)

Hermann Moll (1654- 1732) London was a cartographer, engraver, and publisher. Moll produced his earliest maps from studying cartographers such as John Senex and Emanuel Bowen.‪ In the 1690s, Moll worked mainly as an engraver for Christopher Browne, Robert Morden and Lea, in whose business he was also involved. During this time he also published his first major independent work, the Thesaurus Geographicus. The success of this work likely influenced his decision to start publishing his own maps. For the production of his maps Moll relied on the most accurate geographical information possible from first hand. Moll benefited from his acquaintance with circumnavigator and privateer William Dampier, who returned to London in 1691 from his first circumnavigation of the world. Dampier wrote a report about the experiences of his twelve-year trip, which appeared in London in 1698 and had its fourth edition just a year later. Moll produced most of the maps and illustrations for the story, which was titled A New Voyage round the World. While Moll's cartographic material increased the clarity of Dampier's descriptions for the reader enormously, Dampier's geographical knowledge was extremely important for the accuracy of Moll's maps. At a time when cartographers relied on the local knowledge of merchants and captains, the acquaintance of a man like Dampier was decisive for the economic success of a cartographer like Moll. The growing public interest in travel literature and the enormous success of Dampier in turn stimulated other authors such as Daniel Defoe or Jonathan Swift to write similar works. They too would later fall back on Moll's artistic abilities to illustrate their works.

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.

Place of Publication London
Dimensions (cm)58,5 x 98
ConditionVery good
Coloringcolored
TechniqueCopper print

Reproduction:

267.00 €

( A reproduction can be ordered individually on request. )