Item #16000105 Antonio De HERRERA Y. TORDESILLAS.

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An Important Early Map of South America Based Entirely on Spanish Sources
[Amsterdam, 1622]



South America.  HERRERA Y TORDESILLAS, Antonio De [Amsterdam, 1622]  Descripcion De La Yndias De Medodia 7.  8 ¾ x 11 ½ inches.  Mint condition.                     


A superb example of a rarely seen map relating to the New World of this period that was based on the usually tightly held Spanish sources. It appeared in Herrera’s Descripcion.De Las Indias Ocidentalies, the first thorough geographic description of Spain’s dominions in America, which served as the introduction to Herrera’s general history of Spanish colonial activities.  This map is largely derived from the manuscript charts of Juan Lopez de Velasco.  It is perhaps intentionally spare due to Spanish restrictions on the publication of geographic information relating to the Americas; however, it is remarkably accurate in its general outline of the continent. On it can be found the Papal Demarcation Line dividing the world between the Spanish and Portuguese with the latter receiving somewhat shorter shrift than actually stipulated. This map and the others in Herrera’s work were first issued in cruder form in 1601 in Madrid and then more finely re-engraved in 1622 in Amsterdam.

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