Columbus Map
Title
Columbus Map
Alternative Title
La carta de Cristóbal Colón
Description
This 15th-century map combines a portolan chart and a world map. Anonymous and not precisely dated, the map is separated into two distinct spaces, divided by a line embellished with gold at the left edge of the sheet of parchment (the "neck" or pointed end).
To the right is a portolan chart of the Mediterranean that includes the Portuguese discoveries in Africa as far as the Gulf of Guinea. On the left is a small circular map of the world, which reflects European geographical knowledge at the very beginning of its exploration of the Americas. The cosmography is inscribed in nine celestial circles, which fits with the prevailing geocentric conception of the universe of the time.
The only humans depicted are two warring figures in what might be modern-day Mali or Niger, one holding a spear and shield and the other a bow.
The map has been attributed to Christopher Columbus, but this remains a highly controversial claim.
To the right is a portolan chart of the Mediterranean that includes the Portuguese discoveries in Africa as far as the Gulf of Guinea. On the left is a small circular map of the world, which reflects European geographical knowledge at the very beginning of its exploration of the Americas. The cosmography is inscribed in nine celestial circles, which fits with the prevailing geocentric conception of the universe of the time.
The only humans depicted are two warring figures in what might be modern-day Mali or Niger, one holding a spear and shield and the other a bow.
The map has been attributed to Christopher Columbus, but this remains a highly controversial claim.
Creator
Unknown
Source
Paris, Bibliothèque nationale de France, Cartes et Plans, Rés. Ge AA 562
Format
Sheet map
Publisher
La carta de Cristóbal Colón: mapa portulano, ca. 1492-1500. Introduction by José Luis Comellas. Barcelona: M. Moleiro Editor, S.A., 1995.
Date
ca. 1492
Medium
Manuscript
Contributor
Special Collections, Carleton College, Northfield, MN
Relation
https://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b59062629/f1.item
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/56928/portolan-on-vellum-the-disputed-christopher-columbus-port-m-moleiro-editor-sa [offers a high resolution digital
copy]
https://images.cnrs.fr/en/video/6877
https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/56928/portolan-on-vellum-the-disputed-christopher-columbus-port-m-moleiro-editor-sa [offers a high resolution digital
copy]
https://images.cnrs.fr/en/video/6877
Language
Latin
Type
World map, cosmographical map
Spatial Coverage
North Africa, West Africa, Europe, Western Mediterranean, Eastern Mediterranean
References
Astengo, Corradino. "The Renaissance Chart Tradition in the Mediterranean." In History of Cartography, vol. 3, edited by David Woodward, 174-262. Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007.
"Utopie - La Carte De Christophe Colomb." expositions.bnf.fr/utopie/grand/2_27.htm.
"Utopie - La Carte De Christophe Colomb." expositions.bnf.fr/utopie/grand/2_27.htm.
Rights
Rights for maps held by individual publishers and institutions. Thumbnails displayed constitute fair use.
Collection
Citation
Unknown, “Columbus Map,” Mapping the World, accessed May 3, 2025, https://www.hist231.hist.sites.carleton.edu/items/show/42.