8 



FISHERY BULLETIN OF THE FISH AND WILDLIFE SERVICE 



hypothesis, Bremer mentions a place on the 

 northern coast of the Gulf of Mexico known by 

 tradition as Portuguese Field, which he considers 

 may be a landing place of Portuguese sailors. 

 The evidence, however, is not convincing. 



SIXTEENTH AND SEVENTEENTH 

 CENTURIES 



The progress of early discoveries in the Gulf 

 may best be followed by studying the maps of this 

 period. Since the data concerning the location of 

 new lands were considered by the Spanish Govern- 

 ment a state secret, maps and reports which the 

 captains of the ships were requested to submit to 

 tte government immediately upon their return to 

 Spain were carefully guarded, and all means were 

 taken to prevent them from falling into the hands 

 of other European powers. As a consequence of 

 this policy of secrecy the first maps of the New 

 World were engraved and published outside Spain 

 (in Italy, France, and Germany), using data which 

 were often surreptitiously obtained or smuggled 

 out of the countr3\ Many of the original docu- 

 ments, usually drawn on parchment or oxhide, 

 were lost or destroyed in war and by accidents; 

 only a few of these valuable documents were 

 recovered in more recent years after many 

 vicissitudes. 



The first map of the world summarizing the 

 discoveries in the western ocean and showing the 

 Gulf of Mexico was drawn by Juan de la Cosa, the 

 companion and pilot of Columbus and owner of 

 the caravel, Santa Maria, which bore the admiral's 

 flag and was the first ship to reach the New World. 

 The map embodies the results of seven important 

 voyages: the three voyages of Columbus in 1492, 

 1493, and 1498; the first and second voyages of 

 Vespucci in 1497 and 1498; and the first and 

 second voyages of Cabot in 1497 and 1498. The 

 date of the execution of the map is established by 

 the inscription which reads, "Juan de la Cosa el 

 fiso en el porto de Santa Maria en ano de: 1500." 



The history of this unique historical document 

 is interesting. After being lost for tlu-ee centuries, 

 the map was found in 1832 in a Paris bric-a-brac 

 shop where it was purchased for a small sum by 

 Baron de Walckenaer. Its great significance was 

 pointed out by Humboldt (1836) when in 1832 he 

 drew public attention to its importance. After 

 the death of Walckenaer . the map was offered for 



sale at public auction and was purchased for 420 

 francs by the Hydrographic Department of the 

 Spanish Government. Today it hangs in the 

 Naval Museum of Madrid, listed in the museum 

 guide book as number 553, with a detailed descrip- 

 tion and a brief history of this remarkable docu- 

 ment (Madrid, Museo Naval, 1945). 



The original map is drawn on oxhide, 5 feet 

 9 inches long, cut square at the tail of the hide 

 where its width is 3 feet 2 inches. The Tropic of 

 Cancer runs vertically through the middle; the 

 top corresponds to the extreme west and includes 

 the Caribbean Sea and the Gulf of Mexico. The 

 latter area, instead of geographical details, is 

 occupied by a rectangular drawing representing 

 St. Christopher bearing the Christ child, a rather 

 crude imitation of the famous woodcut engraving 

 of 1423. Originally the map was rich in blue and 

 gold and illuminated after the fashion of medieval 

 manuscripts, but today it is torn and faded. 

 Peter Martyr, who saw it in 1514 in the house of 

 the Bishop of Burgos, head of the Maritime 

 Department of the Casa de Contratacion, re- 

 marked on its highly colored beauty. 



The photographic reproduction of the Cosa 

 map available in the Library of Congress is too 

 blurred and cannot be clearly copied in the text. 

 The part of the map referring to the Gulf of 

 Mexico can be seen in figure 3, representing a 

 copy found in volume 4 of Humboldt's Examen 

 Critique (1836-39); this part of the map was 

 redrawn and oriented by Humboldt in the con- 

 ventional manner. 



One of the earliest documents showing certain 

 details of the New World and a part of the Gulf 

 of Mexico is Cantino's map of the world. It 

 represents for the first time what appears to be 

 the west coast of Florida and the adjacent part 

 of the Gulf (fig. 4). It was drawn as a large 

 planisphere on parchment in gold and various 

 colors. The map derives its name from Alberto 

 Cantino, Ambassador of the Duke of Ferrara t«. 

 the King of Portugal. The original, located in 

 Biblioteca Estense in Modena, was obtained 

 by Cantino for 12 ducats and was sent by him 

 with a letter to Senor "Duca Hercole" in Lisbon. 

 In later years the map was used as a screen and 

 finally was recovered in a damaged condition from' 

 the shop of a pork butcher in Modena and 

 deposited in the library. 



Some cartographers (see Lowery 1912, pp. 5-6) 



