Typus Orbis Terrarum (Map of the World), 1607

Gerardus Mercator (1512–1594) was born in Flanders, now known as Belgium. The son of a shoemaker, he graduated in 1532 from the University of Louvain, where he studied astronomy, geography, and mathematics. Afterwards he worked as a calligrapher, engraver, geographer, and a maker of scientific instruments. He also made globes and produced maps, including a map of the world first published in 1569 that was intended to help sailors navigate the globe. As a cartographer, his most important innovation was depicting the globe as a two-dimensional map. He drew latitude and longitude lines in a grid. Known as the Mercator projection, it inflates the size of landmasses that are farther away from the equator so that places like Greenland are not the correct size or proportion. Despite the distortions found in these maps, his maps were highly regarded and are still in use for navigational purposes today.  

Cartographer Jodocus Hondius prepared this map for publication in Mercator's Atlas Minor, published in 1607. The map shows both western and eastern hemispheres, split into two circular halves, and includes latitude and longitude lines as a locational grid. The map divides what were known then as the Old and New Worlds. On the left, the Americas are illustrated. There are certain areas which were not fully explored and Mercator had minimal information from which to base his map, although he did get some land masses correct, such as the Baja California peninsula. The right hand side of the map shows Africa, Europe, and Asia. Africa is divided into the principal colonial territories and kingdoms of the 16th century. The Arabian Peninsula, parts of Asia, and Europe are shown to be connected as on modern maps. The African Island of Madagascar and smaller islands in the Indian Ocean are shown as are the reefs in that area. The Asian depiction overestimates the size of New Guinea and underestimates the size of China, which was common in the period. The Persian and Ottoman Empires are represented on the map with demarcation lines showing the boundaries between the empires. Europe is shown with divisions reflecting the political boundaries from the 17th century.


Citation: Mercator, Gerhard, (1512–1594). Typus Orbis Terrarum: Domini est Terra & Plenitudo Ejus, Orbis Uerrarum, & Universi Qui Habitant in Eo. Psalmo 24. Amsterdam, 1607. G3200 1607 .M4 Voorhees Collection. Library of Virginia.