"Cartography in European Expansion and Consolidation, 1500-1700"

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The Oxford Research Encyclopedia of Latin American History

Oxford University Press

Lugar: Oxford; Año: 2018; p. 1 - 20

Mapping the world during the European expansion and consolidation (1500?1700) was a challenging intellectual activity which included the development of new ways of making knowledge, the invention of new instruments, the creation of unprecedented scientific-political institutions, a wider circulation of knowledge thanks to the improvements in printing, and the emergence of radical questions about the nature of the world.In order to record the information provided by travelers, new cartographic genres and languages started to be produced following more and more systematic methodological protocols, that became solid cartographical traditions by the end of the seventeenth century, specifically sea charts, world maps, and atlases, among others. Accuracy and updated information enhanced the main premises and the ideal of scientific mapping and cartographical activities.The expansion of the book market and particularly, within that book market, the flourishing of the atlas market in the Low Countries in the 17th Century, contributed to bring and spread cartographical images of a changing world (modified by continuous expeditions and explorations) to the educated public, not just among scientists but also for wealthy and curious people who could afford the high prices charged to luxurious atlases by some of the most renowned publishers. So maps were no longer exclusive scientific instruments but also became commodities that helped ?common people? to imagine how the world looked, that is to say, to create a shared geographical imagination.