-California is depicted as its own island with another sea that separates it from the mainland
-Entire map is in a very old form of Spanish language
-Large pieces of land or bodies of water have the same names as they do today
-Multiple rivers within the Florida and Alabama region don’t exist today
-Large animals are drawn on map to show what region they thrive in
-Lots of places are named after pre-existing countries (New Canada, New France, New Mexico)
-Sense of proportions is off, the Great Lakes are pushed much further up into Canada than actually geographically correct.
-Mountain ranges present
-Longitudinal and Latitudinal lines present
-A depiction of an Indian in legend
-Bermuda is geographically incorrect
-No religious markings present
2. The largest narrative that this map presents is how much of an influence the spanish culture had over America during that time period. This can be shown through the language that this map is written in and the fact that much of the Mexico region is finely detailed with names of regions and rivers. Another obvious narrative that this map presents is that hunting and livestock was a large part of these people’s lives. I noticed that there are large pictures of animals that live in that region all across the main land mass of America. The fact that “New France,” “New Belgium,” and “New Canada” are present on the map makes me believe that Columbus’s spanish crew that came with him to take over, were living with people of other nationalities. “issues of race, class, and gender are increasingly engaged to mark English-Puritan identity as white (Babb 62).” This quote also points out that they had to share the land with these other countries. I had also noticed that some of the map isn’t geographically correct. For example I noticed that Lake Pontchartrain in New Orleans is geographically correct, but there are no rivers that match the ones I saw connected to it on the map. This could tell us how much the land has changed since the discovering of America, or it could tell us that this map gives us false information about where these geographic landmarks are. Another portion that isn’t geographically correct is in the midwest region of the map. I found that what I think is the great lakes are actually pushed much further up into Canada than is actually correct. I’m not absolutely sure that these are supposed to be the great lakes, but if they are not then that shows that much of Northern America had yet to be accurately graphed on a map.
Great observations and connections, Willa! There was definitely a large influence from the Spanish on these maps, and especially this one. I also liked that you discussed how the geography has changed since the time period in which this map was created. We would still come a long way! I found it interesting that there were no religious markings; in the maps I looked into, they were very prominent. Good observations and post!
ReplyDeleteHello Willa! Nice observations! I also noticed that California was a separate island in my map too! It’s interesting that there are no religious marks, yet there are references to Indians in the left corner. I would agree that the Spanish influence is present in America. Without the processed food of today, it does seem like a good idea to have a map showing regions that certain animals (food) inhabit. Naming a new area signifies “possession” which was definitely evident in that map. If the map gave us false information that would be very peculiar. Yes, it does appear that the Midwest is inaccurate. Overall, great observations and connections to narratives!
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