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Franciae Insula. - Public domain vintage map

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Franciae Insula. - Public domain vintage map

description

Summary

Public domain image of Abraham Ortelius map, 17th century, free to use, no copyright restrictions image - Picryl description. Abraham Ortelius was a Brabantian cartographer, geographer, and cosmographer, conventionally recognized as the creator of the first modern atlas, the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum.

The first collection of maps of the world, Epitome of the Theatre of the World (1570), was produced by Mercator’s contemporary, the Belgian cartographer Abraham Ortelius. From Lawrence H. Slaughter Collection of English maps, charts, globes, books and atlases, NYPL.

In the 17th century, maps took a huge leap forward. Mathematical and astronomical knowledge necessary to make accurate measurements had evolved. English mathematicians had perfected triangulation: navigation and surveying by right-angled triangles. Triangulation allowed navigators to set accurate courses and produced accurate land surveys. Seamen learned to correct their compasses for declination and had determined the existence of annual compass variation. Latitude determination was greatly improved with the John Davis quadrant. The measurement of distance sailed at sea was improved by another English invention, the common log. Longitudinal distance between Europe and Québec was determined by solar and lunar eclipses by the Jesuit Bressani in the 1640s and by Jean Deshayes in 1686. With accurate surveys in Europe, the grid of the modern map began to take shape.

date_range

Date

1603
person

Contributors

Ortelius, Abraham (1527-1598), Cartographer
Coignet, Michel (1549-1623 ), Editor
Shawe, James, Publisher
place

Location

London
create

Source

New York Public Library
copyright

Copyright info

Creative Commons CC0 1.0 Universal Public Domain Dedication ("CCO 1.0 Dedication")

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