| Spanish
and Portuguese Cartography
Iit was in the period of Islamic Iberia, before the Age of
Exploration, that Spain and Portugal had their first moment
of cartographic glory. Specifically, it was through Islamic
Spain that the astrolabe, the precursor of the sextant, reached
mediaeval Europe. Islamic mapmakers were the best in the western
world at the time, though it was a Spanish Jew expelled by
the Catholic Monarchs in 1492 who perfected the astrolabe,
allowing the development of the first scientifically reliable
maps. Abraham Zacuto took refuge in Lisbon, Portugal, an exploration
superpower, and already a cartographic giant. In 1485, Pedro
Reinel had drawn the first Portuguese signed nautical chart,
of the "portolan" type in cartographic terms, which
means that it was a faithful representation of the shoreline
but of little use in ocean-crossing navigation. In 1504, though,
he drew the first Atlantic chart with a scale of latitudes,
a tremendous step forward. Zacuto was the author of the accurate
astronomical tables which made the astrolabe useful and the
technological combination of the astrolabe and reliable maps
were a key element in the success of Portuguese exploration.
Even though as active in the exploration field as its neighbour,
Spain does not occupy the same kind of place in cartographic
history. For a brief period in the second half of the sixteenth
century, the cartographic centre of gravity shifted to Antwerp,
then an important port in the Spanish Empire. But Spanish
misgovernment drove most of the skilled cartographers out
of what were then the Spanish Netherlands (now Belgium) to
Holland, and Amsterdam became the new cartography capital
of the world.
SPV Articles and Links Pages
Journey and Distance
Calculators
Sites to help you plan your route, even if you are not going
to travel by car. Selected, annotated links.
Elsewhere on the Net
Ancient
Hispania
One of those old maps that look as if they've been soaked
in coffee. (It takes a while to download.)
BamJam
- Interactive Map of Spain
Clicking the map brings up some nice photos.
Benidorm
This map seems to have been created by the US Navy for sailors
to find their way around Benidorm when they dock there.
Interactive
Map of the Iberian Peninsula
An interactive map with different levels of zoom, from Concierge.com,
though powered by Mapquest.
Lisbon
- an Interactive Map
A nice, interactive map of Lisbon which allows you to bring
up photos, enlarge them, move around...
Portugal
Map
Just that, a static map of Portugal, which might be useful
for homework types of things.
Road
Map of Spain from National Geographic's Map Machine
National Geographic's satellite maps are very hi-tech (you
can zoom in and recentre) and correspondingly a bit slow.
For greater detail, try the different sites on the SPV Journey
Planners and Route Calculators page.
Spain
and Portugal 1917
A very detailed historical map of the peninsula.
|
