Charte vom Laufe des Huallaga und des Ucayali, un von der Pampa del Sacramento im Innern von Peru

This detailed map shows the region of the Pampa del Sacramento, located to the north-east of Lima, Peru. Published in Weimar in 1807 by the Weimar Geographisches Institut. This was a prestigious German cartographic institute active in the 18th and 19th centuries. It specialised in the production of atlases and detailed maps of America, Europe and Asia. Its publications reflected the advances in exploration and geography of the period. It collaborated with notable cartographers to improve cartographic precision. The map was made by Father Fray Manuel Sobreviela, who played a notable role as guardian of the Monastery of Ocopa and as an explorer of the Amazon region. The map details the various settlements and courses of the rivers between the Marañón River and the city of Lima, differentiating in its key the Christian cities from the indigenous communities, to which it refers with the term “pagan”. During the 18th and early 19th centuries, the Franciscan missions, such as that of Ocopa, were key in the evangelisation and exploration of the Peruvian jungle. The map reflects the attempts to map these regions little known to Europeans. The use of shading to represent the geographical features and the topography of the territory also stands out, which facilitates a better understanding of the landscape.