Minimal cartography: how people represented the world in the 16th century (22 photos)

The selection will include early maps of Mercator, Servetus and others less popular cartographers. The post presents the work of European and Ottoman cartographers. I think the works of Asian masters are worthy separate post. Ready to see something weird?





1. Peloponnese Peninsula, 1525



One of the early eastern maps of Greece. Note that west is on top, not north.

2. Caspian Sea. From the same series of cards. 1525, cartographer: Piri Reis





3. Cyprus, 1571.



Probably a Venetian map. A large number of ships map is explained by the fact that in 1571 a war broke out between the Ottomans with one side and Venice and the union of Catholic states (Pontifical region, Catalonia, Kingdom of Naples, Kingdom of Sicily, Republic of Genoa, Duchy of Tuscany, Duchy of Parma, Duchy of Savoy, Order of Malta) on the other hand.

4. Ottoman navigation chart, 1525



5. Crete, 1541



Second edition of Ptolemy's Geography by Michael Servetus. The map was printed in Vienna.

6. Another map from Ptolemy's Geography, 1541



7. Region highlighted in green is Russia, 1595.



Author: Gerard Mercator.

8. German lands, 1584



Map authors: Claudius Ptolemy, Gerhard Mercator, Willibald Pirckheimer, Arnold Mailius. It is noteworthy that the map is printed in Cologne.

9. Normandy, 1585



Map author: Gerhard Mercator.

10. Britain, 1548



Map author: Claudius Ptolemy, Giacomo Gastaldi, Pietro Andrea Mattioli, Giovanbattista Pedresano.

11. Another map of Britain, 1541



Authors of the map: Claudius Ptolemy, Lorenz Fries, Michael Servet.

12. Map of Lithuania, 1586



13. Map of the Kingdom of Denmark, 1570



From the Atlas of Ortelius.

14. Another map of Denmark, 1585



Author of the map: Antoine Lafrery.

15. Map of Bohemia, 1570



Source: Ortelius Atlas.

16. Map of Silesia, 1561



All the same Atlas of Ortelius.

17. Plan of Milan, 1573



Plan of Milan created by French engraver and cartographer Antonio Lafreri.

18. Map of the Prussian lands by Caspar Henneberger 1584



19. Austria, 1570



Source: Ortelius Atlas.

20. One of the maps of Gerard Mercator, 1595



21. Northern Europe, 1598



This map was published in Mercator's atlas "Cosmographia".