Nova Insulae

Munster’s map of the New World is one of the foundation documents for the geography of the Americas. It is the first map to show the Western Hemisphere as a separate geographical entity.

First published in 1540, this map is the first to show the North American continent with a distinct western coastline, thus making it the first map to show the western hemisphere.

Geographically, it is rudimentary with far greater detail shown in Central and South America as opposed to the northern continent, following Spanish exploration. The name “Temitistan” is usually associated with Mexico. The term “New World” or on this map, “Nouus Orbis” or “Die Nuw Welt” is firmly placed in South America, following Amerigo Vespucci’s assertion that the new landmass discovered by Columbus was actually South America. Discoveries in North America were far sparser and more tenuous, hence the much rougher outline. The Caribbean is detailed, again showing Spanish activity there, with Cuba, Hispaniola and “Sciana”, another name for Puerto Rico, marked. This same island also bears a flag of Castille and Leon, noting the borders of Spanish territory, ceding the lands east to Portugal as per the terms of the Treaty of Tordesillas. Yucatan is also shown as an island.

By contrast, North America bears far fewer names, specifically Terra Florida, west of the mythical Sea of Verrazano, the large bay that can be seen almost bisecting the landmass. East of that is the name “Francisca” , named in honour of Francis I of France and patron of Giovanni di Verrazzano, the Italian explorer who sailed along the east coast of North America and mistakenly believed that the Pacific Ocean was present beyond the Outer Banks, hence the reason of the existence of the Sea of Verrazzano. In the area of Newfoundland, is the name “Corterati” almost certainly a reference to the noted Portuguese explorers the Corte de Real family who made several voyages to the New World at the turn of the sixteenth century but unfortunately failed to return from their last one.

The western side of the map is adorned with a large vignette of a ship, now identified as the “Victoria”, Magellan’s flagship. This map is also one of the first to use the name Magellan’s Strait. The map also is the first to name the Pacific Ocean, “Mare Pacificum,” a nomenclature it shares with Munster’s world map. The island of “Zipangri” refers to Marco Polo’s name for Japan as does the curiously exact number of 7448 islands in the east Asian archipelago.

This example is from the 1572 edition of Munster’s “Cosmographia”. [Burden 12].[AMER2417]