1502 / Cantino Planisphere

Cantino World Map 1502

(An intermittent series introducing well known maps)

 

It is 1502:

  • Christopher Columbus is on his 4th voyage to the New World
  • Portuguese explorers found Rio de Janeiro
  • Moctezuma II becomes Aztec emperor
  • Cesare Borgia commits murder and inspires Machiavelli’s “The Prince”

A time that will eventually be called the European “Age of Discovery”.

The place is Lisbon, Portugal.

Spain and Portugal are locked in a a struggle to find an ocean route to the highly lucrative markets of the Far East, bypassing the monopolized and costly land routes.  By the late 1400’s, Portugal has established colonies in Africa, Asia, South America and Oceania.  Each returning ship brings back valuable geographic information.

It is a time of intrigue…

Portugal is the hub of the lucrative spice and commodities trade formerly controlled by Italy. Nautical maps are closely guarded in the secret archive and it is a capital crime to copy or divulge any knowledge. Espionage is rampant as the rest of Europe seeks to acquire the latest charts possible. There are spies everywhere…

One day, Alberto Cantino arrives in Lisbon.  He has come to buy Iberian horses for the Duke of Ferrara.  And to learn all he can about Portugal’s hidden geographical knowledge.  Progress is slow.  Although we do not have all the letters Cantino wrote to the Duke, two stand out.  In the first dated 1501, Cantino describes overhearing a report made to King Manuel I by Gaspar Corte-Real about his expedition to Newfoundland. In the second dated 1502, even more interesting, he writes about spending 12 ducats for a rather large recently copied map…

It was time to return to Italy.

The Cantino Planisphere is drawn on six glued together sheets of parchment.  It measures 220 x 105 cm (or about 7 x 3 1/2 ft).

Cantino Planisphere

It is the second map known to show the new world in detail and is considered to be the first truly modern map. It also served as inspiration for European map makers throughout the 16th century. The Cantino Planisphere is one of the earliest surviving nautical charts to incorporate latitude. Earlier charts had been based on compass directions and estimated sailing distances. This map was created after the rediscovery of the Ptolemy’s “Geography” and grid lines. It has both latitude data and compass data, although in different areas. King Joao II of Portugal had ordered latitude be determined by his sea captains in 1485.

Thanks to Alberto Cantino, this data will be used by Nicolo de Caverio in 1504 for a manuscript world map.  The information on the map is becoming outdated. But the Italians have learned the secrets of the East / West discoveries of the Portuguese. And the data will travel on to Saint-Die to influence Martin Waldseemuller’s world map as well.

After arriving in Italy, the Cantino Planisphere stayed in the Ducal Library of Ferrara for about 70 years.  The then current pope (Clement Vlll) had it moved to a palace in Modena where it was virtually forgotten.  In 1859, revolutionaries ransacked the palace and the map disappeared.  Fortunately, it was located in a butcher shop later that year by Giuseppe Boni (director of the Biblioteca Entense ) and the map can be seen there today.