WALDSEEMULLER Map That Named America Is A Puzzle For Researchers

[Bianca]

The 1507 Waldseemuller map in an image courtesy of the Library of
Congress.
The only surviving copy of the 500-year-old map that first used the
name America goes on permanent display this month at the Library of
Congress, but even as it prepares for its debut, the map remains a
puzzle for researchers.

(Handout/Reuters)






                           Map that named America is a puzzle for researchers





By David Alexander
Mon Dec 3, 12:19 PM ET
 
WASHINGTON (Reuters) - The only surviving copy of the 500-year-old map that first used the name America goes on permanent display this month at the Library of Congress, but even as it prepares for its debut, the 1507 Waldseemuller map remains a puzzle for researchers.
 
Why did the mapmaker name the territory America and then change his mind later? How was he able to draw South America so accurately? Why did he put a huge ocean west of America years before European explorers discovered the Pacific?

"That's the kind of conundrum, the question, that is still out there," said John Hebert, chief of the geography and map division of the Library of Congress.

The 12 sheets that make up the map, purchased from German Prince Johannes Waldburg-Wolfegg for $10 million in 2003, were mounted on Monday in a huge 6-foot by 9.5-foot (1.85 meter by 2.95 meter) display case machined from a single block of aluminum.

The case will be flooded with inert argon gas to prevent deterioration when it goes on public display December 13.

Researchers are hopeful that putting the rarely shown map on permanent display for the first time since it was discovered in the Waldburg-Wolfegg castle archives in 1901 may stimulate interest in finding out more about the documents used to produce it.

The map was created by the German monk Martin Waldseemuller. Thirteen years after Christopher Columbus first landed in the Western Hemisphere, the Duke of Lorraine brought Waldseemuller and a group of scholars together at a monastery in Saint-Die in France to create a new map of the world.

The result, published two years later, is stunningly accurate and surprisingly modern.

"The actual shape of South America is correct," said Hebert. "The width of South America at certain key points is correct within 70 miles of accuracy."

Given what Europeans are believed to have known about the world at the time, it should not have been possible for the mapmakers to produce it, he said.

The map gives a reasonably correct depiction of the west coast of South America. But according to history, Vasco Nunez de Balboa did not reach the Pacific by land until 1513, and Ferdinand Magellan did not round the southern tip of the continent until 1520.

"So this is a rather compelling map to say, 'How did they come to that conclusion,"' Hebert said.

The mapmakers say they based it on the 1,300-year-old works of the Egyptian geographer Ptolemy as well as letters Florentine navigator Amerigo Vespucci wrote describing his voyages to the new world. But Hebert said there must have been something more.

"From the writings of Vespucci you couldn't have prepared the map," Hebert said. "There had to be something cartographic with it."





MISGIVINGS ABOUT AMERICA



Waldseemuller made it clear he was naming the new land after Vespucci, describing how he came up with the name America based on the navigator's first name.

But he soon had misgivings about what he had done. An atlas Waldseemuller produced six years later shows only part of the east coast of the Americas, and refers to it as Terra Incognita -- unknown land.

"America has gone out of his lexicon," Hebert said. "(No) place in the atlas -- in the text or in the maps -- does the name America appear."

His 1516 mariner's map, on the same scale as the 1507 map, steps back even further, showing only parts of the new continents and reconnecting the north to Asia. South America is labeled Terra Nova -- New World -- and North America is labeled Terra de Cuba -- Land of Cuba.

"Essentially he's reconnecting North America to the Asian mainland, suggesting a continual world of land mass rather than separated by those bodies of water that separate us from Europe and Asia," Hebert said.

Why the rollback? No one knows.

In writings accompanying the 1516 map, Waldseemuller comes across as if he "has seen the better of his error and is now correcting it," Hebert said.

He speculated that power politics played a role. Spain and Portugal divided the globe between them in 1494, two years after Columbus, with territory to the east going to Portugal and land to the west to Spain.

That demarcation line is oddly absent from the 1507 Waldseemuller map, and flags marking territorial claims in South America suggest Portugal controls the region's southernmost land, even though it is in Spain's area of influence. On the later map, the southernmost flag is Spanish, Hebert said.

"It is possible one could say the 1507 map is influenced strongly by Portuguese sources and conceivably the 1516 map may be influenced more by Spanish sources," he said.

Although the map conceals many mysteries, one thing is clear: it represents a revolutionary shift in the way Europe viewed the world.

"This is ... essentially the beginning or first map of the modern age, and it's one that everything builds on from that point forward," Hebert said. "It becomes a keystone map."

(Editing by Eddie Evans)

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[Bianca]

Reuters - Tue Dec 4, 5:59 AM ET

A detail of the map that first used
the name 'America' is seen at the
Library of Congress in Washington,
 December 3, 2007.

The 500-year-old map, created by
German monk Martin Waldseemuller,
is the only known surviving copy
and was purchased for $10 million
in 2003.

(Jim Young/Reuters)

[Bianca]

Conservators at the Library of Congress screw down the map that
first used the name America as it is prepared for its encasement in
Washington, December 3, 2007. The 500-year-old map, created by
German monk Martin Waldseemuller, is the only known surviving
copy and was purchased for $10 million in 2003.

REUTERS/Jim Young

[Bianca]

 The Library of Congress >> Especially for Researchers >> Research Centers
 
 
  Home >> Exhibits Find  in  Geography and Map Pages Researchers Web Pages All Library of Congress Pages 
 
 
Universalis Cosmographia Secundum Ptholomaei Traditionem et Americi Vespucii Alioru[m]que Lustrationes,

St. Dié, 1507
 



Recognizing and Naming America



Martin Waldseemüller’s 1507 world map grew out of an ambitious project in St. Dié, near Strasbourg, France, during the first decade of the sixteenth century, to document and update new geographic knowledge derived from the discoveries of the late fifteenth and the first years of the sixteenth centuries. Waldseemüller’s large world map was the most exciting product of that research effort, and included data gathered during Amerigo Vespucci’s voyages of 1501–1502 to the New World. Waldseemüller christened the new lands "America" in recognition of Vespucci ’s understanding that a new continent had been uncovered as a result of the voyages of Columbus and other explorers in the late fifteenth century. This is the only known surviving copy of the first printed edition of the map, which, it is believed, consisted of 1,000 copies.

Waldseemüller’s map supported Vespucci’s revolutionary concept by portraying the New World as a separate continent, which until then was unknown to the Europeans. It was the first map, printed or manuscript, to depict clearly a separate Western Hemisphere, with the Pacific as a separate ocean. The map represented a huge leap forward in knowledge, recognizing the newly found American landmass and forever changing the European understanding of a world divided into only three parts—Europe, Asia, and Africa.


Martin Waldseemüller (1470–1521)

Universalis Cosmographia Secundum Ptholomaei Traditionem et Americi Vespucii Alioru[m]que Lustrationes, [St. Dié], 1507



One map on 12 sheets, made from original woodcut

Geography and Map Division, Library of Congress


http://www.loc.gov/rr/geogmap/waldexh.html

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Another enlargement from the Waldseemuller map of 1507







Waldseemuller map of 1507, with an enlargement of the portion of South America explored by Amerigo Vespucci, who reached as far south as 50ƒ parallel Another enlargement from the Waldseemuller map of 1507 Waldseemuller's map derives from the very accounts of the journeys made by Vespucci. In this document the newly discovered continent is for the first time referred to as "America", a name the author chose in honor of Amerigo Vespucci. This map too could have formed the basis of Piri Reis' compilation work, as Columbus' charts did.

After Vespucci's last journey, more and more expeditions were undertaken with the purpose of opening a new route towards Asia, but no result was obtained until 1520. It is thus not unreasonable to suppose that other expeditions might have sailed along the remaining short strecth of coast, up to the strait located at 54th parallel, even before 1513. The strait was later named after Magellan, who in 1520 realized it was not a mere gulf but a way between Atlantic and Pacific oceans. Magellan then succeeded in crossing the strait among many difficulties, and finally reached Philippines.

At that time, the land south of the strait was thought to represent the northern edge of that large continent which, according to tolemaic tradition, must have existed in the southern emisphere to balance the quantity of emerged lands in the northern one. Furthermore, many charts and planispheres of that period read "Terra Australis Incognita" (Unknown Austral Land) on the land south of the strait of Magellan.


http://xoomer.alice.it/dicuoghi/Piri_Reis/PiriReis_eng.htm

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Waldseemuller cart of 1507,
with an enlargement of
South America explored
by Amerigo Vespucci as
far as 50° parallel

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http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/d/db/Waldseemuller_map_closeup_with_America.jpg/547px-Waldseemuller_map_closeup_with_America.jpg

[Bianca]

Above is North America as shown on the Walseemuller Map of 1507, the first map to use the name "America." According to Menzies (p. 464):
"The Waldseemuller (1507) shows nearly a thousand miles of the Mississippi as well as the Brazos, Alabama, Roanoke, Delaware and Hudson Rivers of North America."

Identifying those rivers is left as an exercise for the reader, as well as explaining how Menzies knows the "Delaware" isn't, say, the Susquehanna or Potomac, or the "Brazos" isn't, say, the Trinity, Sabine, or Rio Grande, or the "Hudson" isn't the Connecticut or the Penobscot.
 

It might be tempting to dismiss the distortion of North America as an artifact of the projection, but the meridians don't allow it. In addition, Waldseemuller also published gores for a globe (below), and the Americas are shown in the three rightmost gores. It's obvious that Waldseemuller really pictured the Americas as narrow. On the large map and the globe, he shows a narrow gap between North and South America, but on an inset in the large map he shows a connection.


http://www.uwgb.edu/DutchS/PSEUDOSC/1421.HTM

[Bianca]

In respect of Waldseemüller’s depiction of the Pacific coast of the Americas, it is astonishing that Menzies makes no reference to its most obvious feature.

Unlike the east coast of the Americas and the coasts of every other continent and large island, there is not a single place-name on the west coast.

There are two phrases written on the land in latin. In the north Terra Ulteri’ Incognita and in the south Terra Ultra Incognita.

The word ulteri means ‘more remote’. The word ultra means ‘beyond’ or ‘on the far side of’.

Waldseemüller is explicit in disowning any knowledge of either the coastline, that is smooth, unindented and consisting of straight sections, or any specific places on that coast.


http://www.1421exposed.com/html/1421_and_all_that_junk.html

[Bianca]

Panel 1 
 


 Beyond Atlas

This panel shows the Northern New World, Cuba (Isabella Insula) and Hispaniola (Spagnolla Insula). The margins of the outer Panels are embellished with beautiful cartouches and adorned with figures of wind and sea (Zephir, Chor).

Waldseemuller named the landmass "Terra Ulteri Incognita" - unknown distant land. This would represent today's north American continent and was of course, unexlored by either Columbus or Vespucci. The word Parias is displayed and this is thought to be the name that Columbus picked up from local inhabitants for the lower part of the continent.

It is interesting that Waldseemuller portrayed the western coastline as mountainous, since niether Columbus nor Vespucci could have been to or seen these places.

A prominent feature of this panel is the break between the northern and southern continents. During his first voyages to the New World, Columbus was convinced that he could find a passage through to India. He thought he had already reached the island of Zipanga (Japan) as marked on Ptolemy's map and what lay ahead would be India. Hence he named the inhabitants of the new world - "Indians". The map was a work in progress for a number of years since wood cut technology takes time. As new information was relayed back to the cloisters at St. Die-des-Vosges, Waldseemuller would have to adjust his art. After Columbus's third voyage he added an Inset to the map (Panels 3 and 4) with the latest information returning from the front. The gap was closed.



The Latin text in translation reads:

Many have regarded as an invention the words of a famous poet1 that "beyond the stars lies a land, beyond the path of the year and the sun, where Atlas, who supports the heavens, revolves on his shoulders the axis of the world, set with gleaming stars", but now finally it proves clearly to be true. For there is a land, discovered by Columbus, a captain of the King of Castile, and by Americus Vespucius, both men of very great ability, which, though in great part lies beneath "the path of the year and of the sun" and between the tropics, nevertheless extends about 19 degrees beyond the Tropic of Capricorn toward the Antarctic Pole, "beyond the path of the year and the sun". Here a greater amount of gold has been found than of any other metal.

Note: The famous poet was Virgil.




    Next Panel -->



 FOR THE OTHER PANELS OF THIS MAP IN DETAIL:


http://www.educarepress.com/images/Waldsee/map_1.html

[BlueHue]

Dear. . . . .  BIANCA,

Thank You for your note on the more detailed map-lettering on this Waldseemuller Map.

in 1475 Columbus seems to have already sailed to Brazil with fishermen from St.Malo( France.)who regularly fished in American waters, but were not intrested in colonizing the uninhabited coasts !

It speaks that Columbus if he wanted to be recognized as the sole legitimate discoverer of these West Indies or Atlantis, that he would keep his voyage with the French fishermen underwraps !  Until he had sufficient money to establish a tradingpost in America.

But somehow he was not very succesfull in aquiring money for his Trading post-Project, Isabelle of Aragon who was sympathetic to his cause even told him to waite a few years until the City of GRANADA was taken, but in 1490 this war against the moors principality in Spain  had cost so much that  even then Isabella had no money to spare, so she had to order ships from rich towns, which however offerd worm-eaten Barqasses to Columbus and only one Brigantine.

When Columbus went to America in 1492 he was determined to find a SHORTER way to ARABY and INDIA, which he knew as TERRA-COGNITA or " ATLANTIS "

     Atlantis is synonym with TERRA-COGNITA which in plain english means " The Known World or in PLATO's greek: OIKUMENE OKEANOS or ATLANTIS  (=ATHE/  ADEN-) PELAGOS, this known World bordering the World-Sea or Ocean was according to HERODOTUS in the MARE-Erytraeum "

MAYBE as a non-professional ancient-Cartographist the Geo Name " MARE-Erytraeum " does not mean much to you, but Herodotus says that it was the very Sea that Atlantis shores were" washed by ". So where this MARE- Erytraeum flowed, was also ' Athe or AD-Land."

Columbus ( re-)named parts of South-America after biblical Landforms that we know were PERTAINING only to SOUTH- Arabia(= Foelix.)
THUS, the TRIBE of YOKTAN lived in present day OMAN in Yemen, and Columbus named the Penisula of YUCCATAN after this ARABIAN Yoktan !

OPPOSITE Atlantis/ GADARAS which was situated at the EXTREMETY opposite the Oceanic outlet, were the Antillies and Atlantis itself according to PLATO, ( Critias 111B: )ATLANT is like a Promotory jutting out from the Beach far into he Sea and the SEA of Atlas is like a narrow Harbour with an entrance to the surrounding Ocean.

Which means to  assertive readers that Atlantis was never an Isle IN the Ocean but at the butt end of a GULF opposite the REAL Ocean.

Such a Butt-end we call in NAUTIC Terms a Gulf but in Spanish this would - ofcourse- be a BRAZZ del MAR or in french a BRAZ- de- MER, thus Columbus who thought that in viewing South-America from the Carribian Island which he held for ( closed.)a BAY thoht that he was observing Atlantis re- Named it BRAZZ del MAR or in short BRAZZILLE which means SEA-BRANCE !

Alas when Columbus got home he heard that King Ferdinand was about to announce that according to ancient history SPAIN. Hispagnola itself were ancient/ original ATLANTIS and so Columbus who supposed that he could claim America as the original Atlantis was twarted in his plans and had to pretend to have lost his ships log and re write it in order not to be riddiculed.

Luck has it that the ordinary layman did not connect INDIA-Media as a province of Atlantis, so Columbus could still pretend to have found a shorter way to INDIA " Proper " .

As if you did not know: ATLANTIS was not diviede by 10 Princes but by 5 married ones and even so the Country was divede amongst 3 Men only Atlas and his brothers ZEUS & POSEIDON, who in the Rig Veda Purana's re named their portions as " INDIA Major(= Aethiopia & Somalia, INDIA Media which is ARABIA( Foelix.) and INDIA" Minor " which is INDIA-proper. ( The ARIANS who conquerred India were actually Egyptians from Upper-Egypt.)

Most scholars around 1600 did consider AMERICA as a ( New-) if not the " original" Atlantis.

HOWEVER to prove that PLATO meant " Atlantis to be " IN-BETWEEN " LYBIA & ASIA=major = Arabia, I will need to corroberate from the Waldseemuller Map or any other ancient RED-SEA Map that EAST- Africa was -originally-named " LYBIA" and ARABIA-Foelix.) was originally named ASIA-Major !

And you are helping out a lot here already, Thank you BIANCA !

Sincerely " BlueHue      " dd 4 Dec 2007

[Bianca]

Blue,

I found more on the Piri Reis map that I am going to bring here.  Keep a look out for it.

From a lot I have read on the 'net, Columbus was acquainted with this map - I mean the
sources of it.  It is very intriguing and I'd like to track some of these facts down myself.

If you got time, read PIRI REIS AND THE COLUMBUS MAP here:

http://atlantisonline.smfforfree2.com/index.php/topic,1506.0.html

I am glad to be of help!

CHI VA PIANO, VA SANO E VA LONTANO!


Sincerely,
b

[Bianca]

Panel 2 



 
 Ptolemy - Center of the Universe


A portrait of Claudius Ptolemy is the first remarkable feature of this plate. Ptolemy was the father of mapmakers. It was his view of the world that had persisted for 1500 years and upon which Waldseemuller would stage his depiction of the known world. It had become a conventional by this time to show the world in two hemispheres.

Waldseemuller added this first Inset to include new information that percolated back to Europe as a result of Columbus's and Vespucci's later voyages. It appears above the "Circulus Articus"(Arctic Circle) and shows the traditional view of Europe, Asia and Africa. The Equator, the tropics, the Arctic Circle, and other lines of latitude are accurately shown. He underestimated the circumference of the Earth so the degrees of longitude are not correct.

To the west of Norway the mythical island of Brassyle sits alone in the great sea Oceanus Occidentalis. Brassyle was a land that was variously described in Irish and other mythology as a land where souls could find happiness after death. This island later turned out to be Newfound Land.

Ptolemy was a renowned mapmaker and his cartographic rendition, drawn around 150 AD, depicting the known world at that time became the accepted standard until Waldseemuller's World Map (1507). Ptolemy introduced revolutionary improvements to the craft of mapmaking. He was responsible for the establishment of the first grid, a network of lines (latitude and longitude) just as mapmakers do today, so that places could be accurately located and described. A detailed gazetteer of the world listing approximately 8,000 place names and their coordinates accompanied Ptolemy's map. Ptolemy's grid method was abandoned during the middle ages, when mapmakers reverted to drawing circular and artistic depictions of the Earth that were, for the most part, aesthetically beautiful but rarely very accurate.

During the renaissance (1400s), mapmakers again discovered Ptolemy's craft, and in the 1480s a standard Ptolemy map was available from several European mapmakers. Henricus Martellus (see Fig. 1) produced a version of Ptolemy's map in the year 1490.

[Bianca]

Panel 3 


 

Vespucci - New World Inset
 

The New World inset is the main feature of this panel. Waldseemuller attributes Amerigo Vespucci respect for his discoveries in the new world by showing him prominently with some navigational instruments. The inset augments the main map by making additions from Columbus's and Vespucci's later discoveries. The New World is shown as a separate continent and the "gap" between the north and south continents, which had appeared earlier, was closed. This reflected Columbus's new position on a way through to India.

Japan (Zipanga) and Cathay are shown west of the new world. The "Mare Glaciale" is the arctic ocean. In this inset the word America is replaced by Terra Incognita. To the east of the northern reaches of the newly discovered landmass lies Bassyle (Newfoundland) between Europe and the new world.

Vespucci claimed this as a New World, "because none of those countries were known to our ancestors... I have found a continent in that southern part more populous and more full of animals than our Europe or Asia or Africa."