A Special Collections Exhibition
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Mapping the New World |
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Pascal Ponce, SJ, Manuscript map of Peru and Brazil, 1761
The
European navigators had by the early eighteenth century succeeded in delineating
the outline of much of the world’s coasts. But the internal regions long
remained unmapped, and here the Jesuits, often well trained in mathematics, did
remarkable work. They were active not only in China, but also in the New World,
from Huronia to Patagonia.
This manuscript map, oriented southwards, shows Peru and part of Brazil,
setting out the spheres of influence of the Spanish and Portuguese missions. The
Jesuits were expelled from the New World in the decade following this map, but
their work has survived in numerous archives, and is only just beginning to be
closely studied.
© Special Collections Division
The University of Texas at Arlington Libraries
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