Description:
Map titled "NOVA BELGICA ET ANGLIA NOVA" depicting the southern portions of New England and New York, and coastal New Jersey, oriented with west at the top, and numerous vignettes depicting fauna (beaver bear, polecat, otter, fox, deer, egret, turkeys, rabbit, etc.), Native villages, and Native and European vessels. The map is from a multi-volume, world atlas, "Le Theatre du Monde" ("Theatrum Orbis Terrarum") by Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) and his son, Joan Blaeu (c.1596-1673). The Blaeu family of cartographers, founded by Willem Janszoon Blaeu in the 1630s, became the largest printer in 17th century Europe and the leading cartographic publishers during the golden age of Dutch map making. After Willem’s death in 1638, the firm continued under the direction of his sons Cornelis (d. 1642) and Joan until a fire destroyed the business in 1672. This map was reissued at various times by Blaeu’s successors, through at least 1667; the 1672 fire apparently ended production of this map. In 1623, New Netherland became a province, having prevously been a possession of a Dutch fur trading company. The coat of arms of the United Netherlands presiding above the map's title panel underscores Blaeu's Dutch perspective in depicting the colonies of New Netherland and New England. Blaue used the names "Novum Belgium" and :Nieu Nederlandt" to label lands under Dutch control, and numerous Native place names along with Dutch names such as Versche (Fresh) River to designate the Connecticut River. Most of the maps of southern New York that appeared in the first three-quarters of the 17th century were the work of Dutch explorers and cartographers. In 1613/14, Adriaen Block, a Dutch explorer and fur trader, sailed around Long Island, and sketched out its overall appearance. This 1635 Blaeu map of New Netherland and New England reflects these early Dutch explorations. It is largely based on a manuscript map, the famous "Adriaen Block Chart"; of 1614. Long Island (called Matowacs on this map), is shown as broken up by waterways--a feature taken from the Block Chart. Lake Champlain is still displaced far to the east--a feature which Block copied from an unpublished map by Champlain. A number of important place names make their first cartographic appearance on this map.These include "Manhates" (Manhattan), "Hellegat" (Hell Gate), and "Adrian Blocks eylandt" (Block Island). The beginnings of Dutch settlement in this area are reflected in the place names "New Amsterdam" and "Fort Orange" (near Albany). The numerous Dutch place names along the coast of New England are mostly copied from the Block chart, although Plymouth is added. This and other early Dutch maps are important sources of information about local Indians. A number of tribes are named, including the Mohawks ("Maques") and Mohegans ("Mahikans"); birch bark and dugout canoes are shown, as well as somewhat fancifully drawn Indian settlements. These illustrations, which were frequently copied on later maps, were important sources of information about life in the New World for Europeans who remained at home.
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https://museums.fivecolleges.edu/detail.php?t=objects&type=ext&id_number=HD+2010.9.2 |
