Antique map of Florida by J. de Laet 1630
Florida, et Regiones Vicinae.
Item Number: 18407 Authenticity Guarantee
Category: Antique maps > America > North America
Copper engraving
Size: 28.5 x 36cm (11 x 14 inches)
Verso: Blank
References: Burden 232.
From: Beschrijvinghe van West-Indien. Leiden, 1630.
"This is one of three maps that relate to the east coast of North America in de Laet's work. This is arguably the finest description of the Americas published in the seventeenth century. Despite the fact that he drew on a large number of sources for his information, no fresh material on the area had been forthcoming for decades. Hessel Gerritsz, the author and probable engraver of the map, drew therefore on the interpretation by Claesz, c.1602, of the Jacques le Moyne cartography of Florida. Originally thought to be taken from Jodocus Hondius' map of Virginia and Florida, 1606, this study demonstrates otherwise. One notable area of alteration is the placing of C. FranÇois further east into the Atlantic Ocean. Florida, as we know it today, is here called Tegesta provinc. This name, applied here for the first time, is that of a tribe of Indians living on the south-west coast. "Florida" was at that time applied to a far larger region. It came to be used solely for the peninsula as Spanish Florida was squeezed south by the expansion of the English colonies.
For the rest of the map he drew upon the nomenclature of the Ortelius-Chaves map of 1584. The river delta system, however, is still confusing. The Bahia del Spiritu Santo is often thought to refer to the mouth of the Mississippi River. Studies have questioned the assumption of this attribution. The map's influence was quite considerable. Blaeu, Janssonius and Sanson, all followed it." (Burden)