Map of the Atlantic Ocean, in 1601

names. For Canada, it provides 28 place-names extracted from the writings of Jacques Cartier, seven of which were original. "Quebec," for example, makes its appearance here for the first time. The northeastern part of North America is labeled as New France and shown with the French coat of arms, even though the first permanent French settlements were not established until several years later (Quebec City in 1608). The map shows the coasts of Europe from Hamburg to Cape Matapan; of Africa from Cyrene to the Cape of Good Hope; and the Atlantic coasts of the Americas from Labrador to the Rio de la Plata and the Pacific coasts from Nicaragua to Conceptión. A ship's pilot, Levasseur is known as the most learned of the Norman hydrographers. He wrote two treatises on hydrography as well as works on mathematical sines and fortifications. Other than a world map that appears in one of his treatises, this is his sole surviving cartographic work.

Created by Guillaume Levasseur in 1601.

• Title devised, in English, by Library staff.
• Original resource extent: 1 map : manuscript, illuminated on vellum ; 74.5 x 99 centimeters.
• Reference extracted from World Digital Library: Sarah Toulouse, "Marine Cartography and Navigation in Renaissance France," in David Woodward, editor, The History of Cartography, vol. 3, Cartography in the European Renaissance (Chicago: University of Chicago Press, 2007).
• Original resource at: National Library of France.
• Content in French.
• Description based on data extracted from World Digital Library, which may be extracted from partner institutions.

Map Tags

1601

Atlantic Ocean

Cartier Jacques

Guillaume Levasseur

Manuscript Maps

Map

Nautical Charts

Portolan Charts