Chili

Finely coloured map of the central coastal area of Chile. This map was published in the year 1630 in Amsterdam by Willem Janszoon Blaeu. Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) was a Dutch cartographer and founder of an influential cartographic house. He published the Atlas Novus and perfected cartography with detailed and ornamented maps. He was official cartographer of the Dutch East India Company. His legacy was expanded by his son Joan Blaeu with the Atlas Maior. The map shows us a part of the coast of Chile that runs from south (right side of the sheet) to north (left side of the sheet), where we can find various localities such as Castro, on the island of Grande de Chiloé, Valdivia, Arauco, Concepción, “Mapocho” (Santiago de Chile). In the lower part, in the sea, we can find two brigantines accompanied by two fantastic creatures. As for the representation of the relief, we find the Andes range highly illustrated, as well as various rivers. Worth noting is the representation of two volcanoes in front of the municipality of Villa Rica. In its upper part we find, at the edges, the title and the scale, accompanied by a coloured cartouche.
On the back of the sheet we find a text in Latin that tells us about the region of Chile, as well as its most important provinces and cities and their historical context.