Early Maps of America. 17 



gated and the southern part of it colonized ; l)nt it was not until 

 after another century and another age that another race found 

 homes for themselves on the coast of North America. 



The voyages of the discoverers of America gradually became 

 known to the public. It is interesting and instructive to exam- 

 ine the early maps representing these voyages to see how slowly 

 the geography of the new world became known. 



On the Zenimap of 1400, published in 1558, Greenland is con- 

 nected with Norwa}^ The same connection is shown in the 

 Claudius Clavus map of 1427, in the Portuguese mappemonde 

 of 1490, and even in the Ptolemy map by Waldseemiiller in 1513 ; 

 while in the map of Europe at the end of the " Chronicon Nu- 

 rembergense," 1493, Greenland is shoAvn as an isthmus connect- 

 ing Norway and Sweden with Russia. 



One of the first maps drawn after the discovery of America was 

 that made in 1500 by Juan de la Cosa, a celebrated pilot and car- 

 tographer who accompanied Columbus on his first and second 

 voyages and Vespucius on his first voyage. It delineated parts of 

 the eastern coasts of South America and North America, showing 

 by the flags of Spain, England and Portugal the coast explored 

 by the ships of each countr}^ On that i^art of the map between 

 North America and South America, Columbus is drawn as Saint 

 Christopher bearing the Christ child on his shoulders. The figure 

 thus fulfills a double purpose of honoring Columbus and cover- 

 ing the undiscovered portions of the continent (plate 4*). 



On the Cantino chart of 1501-1502 South America is deline- 

 ated as surrounded by water from about 30° south to the isthmus 

 of Darien, then Cuba, the West India islands and the coast of 

 North America from 37° to 54° north. There is no land con- 

 necting North America and South America. 



On the Ruysch map of 1508, two years after the death of Co- 

 lumbus, Greenland and Labrador are connected with Asia. The 

 new world appears as an island near the equator (plate 5t). 



* The orio;inal of this map is preserved in the Museo de la Marina at 

 Madrid. Plate 5 is reduced from a tracing of a lithographed fac simile, 

 in colors, in possession of Mr Tliomas Wilson, whose courtesy in permit- 

 ting the use of this rare map it is a pleasure to acknowledge. 



fPhotolithographed directlj^ from a copy of the edition accompanying 

 the " Geographise CI. Ptolemgei," Romse, 1508, now in the Library of Con- 

 gress, through the kindness of Hon K. P. Spofford. The Ruysch map 

 is of special interest as showing the Cabot discoveries of 1497 and as 

 being the first map of the world engraved on copper. 



3— Nat. Geog. Mag., vol. V, 1893. 



