Map of the Strait of Magellan Developed by the Schouten and Le Maire Expedition, 1616
View Item
PNG | PDF 1.1 MB

Description

  • In June 1615, Dutch navigators Jacob Le Maire (circa 1585–1616) and Willem Corneliszoon Schouten (circa 1567–1625) set out in two ships, the Eendracht and the Hoorn, from the Dutch port of Texel, seeking to find a new route to the East Indies. They made landfall on the coast of South America in early December, at Port Desire (present-day Puerto Deseado, Argentina). This near-contemporary print shows the sailors from the Hoorn and the Eendracht at work on shore. Seeking to replenish their supplies after nearly six months at sea, the sailors found an abundance of marine life, nests of penguins and gulls filled with eggs, and large animals that they hunted for meat. In the foreground, sailors are seen killing sea lions using lances, axes, and knives. In the distance, other men can be seen investigating a burial site. The compass rose at the center indicates that the map is oriented with south at the top. Penguins, llamas, and ñandues (American ostriches) are shown at the top. After leaving Argentina in late January of 1616, Le Maire and Schouten became the first Europeans to round Cape Horn. The map is from a French translation, published in Amsterdam in 1622, of Historia general de los hechos de los Castellanos en las islas y tierra firma del Mar Oceano (General history of the deeds of the Castilians on the islands and mainland of the Ocean Sea) by the Spanish historian Antonio de Herrera (1559–1625).

Creator

Editor

Date Created

Publication Information

  • Chez Emanuel Colin de Thovoyon, Amsterdam, Netherlands

Language

Title in Original Language

  • Mapa del Estrecho de Magallanes elaborado por la expedición de Schouten y Le Maire, 1616

Place

Time

Topic

Additional Subjects

Type of Item

Physical Description

  • 1 map

Notes

  • From: 'Description des Indes Occidentales, qu'on appelle aujourdhuy le Nouveau Monde' / par Antoine de Herrera ... ; translatée d'espagnol en françois. Amsterdam : chez Emanuel Colin de Thovoyon marchandt libraire ; Paris : Chez Michel Soly [distribuidor], 1622. 54 p

Institution

External Resource