[Map of Ourense, Galicia, Spain] Map of the bishopric of Ourense

Map of the Bishopric of Orense, in Galicia, made by Tomás López and “Joseph Cornide”, that is, José Andrés Cornide de Folgueira y Saavedra. It features an ornate title, roads, hydrographic network and orography in profile. It includes the bishopric and the surrounding areas, the limits of the ecclesiastical jurisdiction, abundant toponymy and population centres differentiated by their importance. Worth noting is that this information had been unpublished until that moment. Cornide was a Spanish geographer, naturalist and humanist. He was one of the best-known members of the Enlightenment in Galicia. Tomás López de Vargas Machuca (1731-1802) was a Spanish publisher and the most notable cartographer of his time. In 1752 he was sent to France to be instructed in the study of geography and artistic engraving. In fact, he studied with Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville in Paris. Back in Spain in 1760 he began his career making maps for the Bourbon kings and was named by Charles III geographer of the dominions of His Majesty, placing him at the head of his recently created Geography Cabinet. He was even authorised to create a cartographic agency for the Secretariat of State in 1795. Tomás López made more than 200 maps and established the only independent cartographic publishing firm in all of Spain where he sold his work. He never did fieldwork, so he produced his maps from older examples and from questionnaires sent to the ecclesiastical authorities of the regions, with which he requested information relating to their dioceses and parishes. His most notable work for its scope is the Atlas Geográfico de España, considered a milestone in the history of Spanish cartography, for it gathered an anthology of maps of the various Spanish regions. In addition to his cartographic work he wrote the Principios Geográficos aplicados al uso de mapas, in 1775; and the Cosmografía abreviada. Uso del globo celeste y terrestre, in 1784. Full title: Mapa de el obispado de Orense. Delineado por D. Joseph Cornide, vecino de la ciudad de la Coruña 1763.