CONTENT WARNING
Materials in the Library of Virginia’s collections contain historical terms, phrases, and images that are offensive to modern readers. These include demeaning and dehumanizing references to race, ethnicity, and nationality; enslaved or free status; physical and mental ability; and gender and sexual orientation.
Context
This map engraved by Theodor de Bry (1528–1598) was published in 1590 to accompany his reprint of Thomas Harriot's A Brief and True Report of the New Found Land of Virginia, which he issued in Latin, German, French, and English to ensure the book received wide circulation. Entitled "That part of America, now called 'Virginia'," the map includes the names of Indigenous settlements in the area around Roanoke Island in present-day North Carolina and documents the geography of the Outer Banks and the Pamlico and Albemarle Sounds. The entrance to the Chesapeake Bay ("Chesepiooc Sinus") was also named for the first time on a published map.
De Bry's engraving was based on earlier watercolor drawings and maps created by English colonial governor, explorer, artist, and cartographer John White (d. 1593), who, in 1585, was part of a failed colonizing expedition to Roanoke Island, which became known as the Lost Colony. John White's maps were oriented on a north/south axis, but de Bry reoriented his version, so that west is at the top of the map. Many early maps showed west at the top; it was how the area would have looked when arriving by ship from Europe.
This map portrays sea life and Indigenous people (both on land and in canoes on the water). The use of this type of imagery comes from the medieval tradition in which maps provided a visual record of the inhabitants as well as natural features such as animals and plants of an area. De Bry's engravings were used in other publications of the time, written by those who were part of expeditions to the New World to justify further colonization and exploration efforts.
Theodore de Bry was born in Liege, Flanders (now part of the Netherlands), to a wealthy Protestant family and was trained as a goldsmith and engraver. As the Spanish and British began to explore North and South America, de Bry became interested in producing illustrations of the early descriptions from the reports provided by the explorers. He wanted to create images that could be marketed and sold to anyone. The ten volumes of narratives and engravings related to travel in the Americas produced by de Bry and his sons revived English interest in colonization after the failure of the Roanoke colony and served as an important source of information for Europeans who were interested in learning more about the New World.
Citation: Americae pars, nunc Virginia dicta: primum ab Anglis inuenta, sumtibus Dn. Walteri Raleigh, Equestris ordinis Viri, Anno Dn̄i. MDLXXXV regni Vero Sereniss. nostrae Reginae Elisabethae XXVII, hujus vero Historia peculiari Libro descripta est, additis etiam Indigenarum Iconibus. G3880 1590.W4 Voorhees Collection, Library of Virginia.
Standards
Science: 4.8, ES.1, ES.8
Suggested Questions
Look at It: Look at the map. What do you notice about it? How is it different from other maps you have seen?
Post Activities
STEM Stat: On the map there is an image of a caliper or divider used for measuring distances on a map. What is the measurement being used for this map? How might this information be used by someone who wanted to chart a course to a new location? How might the orientation of the map have affected its overall usefulness?
Analyze: There are a number of items depicted on the map. Why would they have been included?