Map of South America 1601 – Descripcion de las Indias
“Descripcion de las Indias de Mediodia”, Herrera y Tordesillas, Antonio de
Antonio de Herrera y Tordesillas was the official historian of Spain and the Indies.
He compiled a history of the Spanish conquests and early explorations of the Americas, which included this simply engraved map of the continent.
The map is largely based on the handwritten maps of Juan Lopez de Velasco.
The continent is dominated by the huge “R. de los Amazona” and “R. de la Plato” and the western mountain range.
The Meridiano de la de Marcacion is shown, which divided the non-Christian world between Spain and Portugal.
Treaty of Tordesillas: Named after the town of Tordesillas, Spain, where it was signed on 7 June 1494.
It was responsible for dividing the world along a meridian established 370 leagues west of the Cape Verde Islands. The lands to the west of this meridian belonged to Spain and the lands to the east of this meridian belonged to Portugal.
