The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in AmericaMurphy, Henry Cruse
History
The voyage of Verrazzano : $b a chapter in the early history of maritime discovery in America
Murphy, Henry Cruse
America -- Discovery and exploration -- French; Verrazzano, Giovanni da, 1485-1528
The map of Agnese stands, therefore, as the earliest chart of an
acknowledged date showing the western sea, and that is independently
of the Verrazzano discovery, or the Verrazano map. The hitherto
unpublished maps produced by Mr. Kohl, also for the purpose of
proving the influence of the Verrazzano discovery, fail entirely of
that object. The first of them, in point of date, the sketch (No.
XV. c) from the portolano of 1536, preserved in the Bodleian library
at Oxford, shows a track of navigation from the north of France,
across the Atlantic, RUNNING BETWEEN THE BACALAOS AND THE LAND OF
THE BRETONS, THROUGH THE GULF OF ST. LAWRENCE, TO THE PACIFIC, AND
THENCE TO CATHAY. There is no representation of the western sea, as
shown on the Verrazano map, but on the contrary, the whole of the
western coast of North America is shown conjecturally in a different
form, by dotted lines. So far as this map affords any indication on
the subject, it refers to the route of Cartier, and delineates the
Atlantic coast according to the Spanish map of Ribero, that is, with
a trending of the coast in a more northerly direction than the
Verrazano map, and with the peculiar return of that coast westerly,
in latitude 40 Degrees N., given on that map. The next chart (No.
XV. d) from a map made by Diego Homem in 1540, shows the western sea
nearly the same as on the map of Agnese, but conjecturally only;
while the representation of the Atlantic coast has the same
characteristics as the Bodleian and Agnese maps, showing its
derivation from Ribero and not the Verrazano map. The remaining
sketch given by Mr. Kohl (No. XV. b) from a map made by G. Ruscelli
in 1544, presenting the same features, as do the two others, in
regard to the Atlantic coast, puts beyond all question that the map
of Ribero is its authority, by adopting from it the name of Montagne
Verde which is applied by Ribero to the hills at the mouth of the
river San Antonio, in latitude 41 Degrees N., thereby certainly
excluding any recognition of the Verrazzano discovery or the
Verrazano map.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
Reviews
Reviews
No reviews yet
Be the first to share your thoughts on this work.
Elsewhere in the archive
Join the Discussion
Join the discussion
Sign in to leave a comment or review.
Sign InorCreate an account