Peru

Title

Peru

Description

Decorativ map of Peru with title cartouche.

ca. 1630

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

In April 1532 Francisco Pizarro landed on the Peruvian coast. In November 1533 Pizarro reached the capital Cusco, which was handed over to him without any significant resistance. He appointed the younger brother Huáscars, Manco Cápac II as an Inca, who in 1536 dared a barely failed uprising. Pizarro had thus conquered the Inca Empire for the Spanish crown, and King Charles I, also known as the German-Roman Emperor Charles V, could say of himself: "The sun never sets in my empire." Pizarro founded today's capital in January 1535 Lima. The Spanish founded the Viceroyalty of Peru in 1542 with Lima as the capital, which, with the exception of Venezuela, included all Spanish possessions in South America. In 1572 the Spaniards took Vilcabamba, the last refuge of the Incas. Lima was developed by the Spaniards into a magnificent city and called the city of kings. While independence movements developed in most countries in South America from 1809, the situation in Peru remained relatively stable. The Bolivian dictator Andrés Santa Cruz invaded Lima in the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation War in 1836 and united the two countries into the Peruvian-Bolivian Confederation.