Oceans on Maps: Cartographers, Artists, and the Depiction of Oceans in the Sixteenth Century

This paper will discuss the depictions of oceans on manuscript charts and maps drawn in the sixteenth-century. It will explore both the geographical data pertaining to oceans recorded on maps and charts as well as the iconic imagery—ships, flags, fish, birds, and monsters—painted over oceans on maps and charts. Focusing mainly on Portuguese manuscript maps and charts, differences between the Portuguese and the Spanish, French, and English representations of oceans will be considered. Maps to be discussed include: Portuguese: The Cantino Map, 1502; Pedro and Jorge Reinel's charts; the Miller Atlas, 1519; Spanish: Diogo Ribeiro, 1529 and Juan Vespucci's World Map, 1526; French: the Vallard Altas of 1547 and the Rotz Atlas of 1542; English: John White, 1585. The working hypothesis of the paper is that beginning with the Portuguese, makers of sixteenth-century maps deliberately projected a benign image of the ocean, easily crossed by the mastery of navigation and shipbuilding, thereby inviting exploration, encounters, trade, and colonization.