Von Erfindung derselben durch underschiedliche Schiffart. 435

Title

Von Erfindung derselben durch underschiedliche Schiffart. 435

Splendid depiction of a sailing ship at the time of discovery, with sea monsters and flying fish at the Canary Islands.

ca. 1620

Artist

Bry, de - Merian (1528-1598)

In 1631, Matthäus Merian and Johann Ludwig Gottfried published Historia Antipodum, a heavily abridged, single-volume version of Theodor De Bry’s 14-part America series. After De Bry’s death, his sons continued the project. Merian, a skilled engraver, later married De Bry’s daughter and collaborated with Gottfried. The Historia Antipodum reorganized numerous travel accounts into three chapters covering nature, exploration, and recent colonial developments. Merian and Gottfried significantly reworked the content, merging reports and integrating illustrations into the text. Their depiction of the natural world and Indigenous cultures—drawing in part on José de Acosta’s writings—was particularly influential. The book stands as one of the most ambitious works of early modern travel literature.

Historical Description

Canary islands with Teneriffa, Fuerteventura, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote, La Palma, La Gomera und El Hierro. The archipelago also includes a number of islands and islets: La Graciosa, Alegranza, Isla de Lobos, Montaña Clara, Roque del Oeste and Roque del Este. In ancient times, the island chain was often referred to as "the Fortunate Isles". The Canary Islands are the most southerly region of Spain and the largest and most populated archipelago of the Macaronesia region. From the 4th century until the rediscovery of the Canary Islands by the Europeans in the 14th century, different cultures developed independently on the individual islands. These were based on the same principles but had so many special features that one cannot speak of a "culture of the Guanches of the Canary Islands". There was the culture of the Majos in Lanzarote, that of the Majoreros in Fuerteventura, that of the Bimbaches in El Hierro, that of the Gomeros in La Gomera, that of the Canarios in Gran Canaria, that of the Benahoaritas in La Palma and that of the Guanches in Tenerife. The naming of the indigenous people of all islands with the designation of the indigenous people of the island of Tenerife as Guanche, which was common for a long time, ignores the differentiated cultural developments on the different islands.