![]() The Jesuits tried to enter China in 1552, again led by Xavier, but they succeeded in gaining more permanent entry only in the early 1580s, led by Matteo Ricci. In the region of China, as also of Japan and the neighboring isles, many have been won for the Christian faith by the fathers of the Society of Jesus, going to the settlements in the new Indies, as a result of their efforts.įrancis Xavier, a Jesuit, entered Japan in 1549, and he began to convert Japanese people to Christianity. Tucked between Japan and North America is a block of text which translates to: This could be a reference to Hokkaido or to a chimerical island in the North Pacific. To the north is a large island supposedly rich in gold, Isla de Plata. Japan is mis-projected, revealing how little was known about the geography of the archipelago at this time. Scholars debate which is truly the first map of the Pacific although, because no example of the original 1589 Hondius/Le Clerk has been discovered, this map retains primacy. This map and Hondius/Le Clerc's map of 1589 (known only in the 1602 edition) have a curious and not fully understood relationship. The treatment of America shown here, and most notably the Pacific Northwest area, is reminiscent of Jodocus Hondius' portrayal of the continent. This was the first map to focus on the Pacific Ocean. ![]() The Solomons or Melanesia are located, as are some of the islands of Micronesia. Among other notable features, it is detached from Terra Australis. ![]() New Guinea appears much different than on Ortelius' World map of 1588, suggesting he may have drawn additional information from an unrecorded voyage. An odd Isla de Plata appears above Japan. Ortelius shows the Moluccas and the Philippines, already the site of considerable Dutch activity and a misprojected Japan. The map is based upon Mercator's world map of 1569, with details from 25 Portuguese manuscript maps of Bartolomeo de Lasso, which Plancius obtained and later used for his own world map. Ortelius's Maris Pacifici map was first issued in 1590. The First Printed Map of the Pacific OceanĪttractive example of Ortelius' Maris Pacifici, the first printed map of the Pacific Ocean.
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