Map of Juan de la Cosa

Map of Juan de la Cosa

Juan de la Cosa’s famous world map is a true wonder from the Age of Exploration ca. 1500. In it, de la Cosa unites all the newly discovered regions of the New World with known parts of the world. In this way they offer a comprehensive picture of the world at that time. De la Cosa accompanied Christopher Columbus on three of his voyages of discovery to the New World as a captain and cartographer, and thus was one of the first to be in the know concerning these new regions. Columbus himself left behind no maps, so the Map of Juan de la Cosa, which has inter alia the first depiction of America on it, represents a unique geographical attestation!

Columbus’ Captain

Juna de la Cosa (ca. 1449–1510) was an eyewitness and important figure of the Age of Discovery ca. 1500. As captain and owner of the Santa Maria, the ship with which Christopher Columbus departed in the year 1492 for his first voyage of discovery, he was among the first to study the exotic world of the Caribbean. Juan de la Cosa accompanied Columbus on his second and third voyages of discovery as a captain, valued advisor, and head cartographer. He possessed a comprehensive knowledge that made him a valuable travel companion. Altogether, de la Cosa undertook seven expeditions to the New World, among them with Amerigo Vespucci and Vasco Nunez de Balboa. He was killed in Columbia during one of these voyages of discovery in 1510 when he was hit by poisoned arrow during a battle with the Indios.

An Important Mappa Mundi

In the course of all these travels, particularly during the first expedition with Christopher Columbus, he collected the knowledge that would allow him to depict this New World. His famous world map probably originates in the year 1500 in Puerto de Santa Maria. The map, made of two ox hides joined together, has the dimensions of 183 x 96 cm. Here, de la Cosa presents all of the discoveries of his time. He did not just bring those lands under the Spanish flag into consideration, but all lands, and thus delivered a comprehensive picture of the world at that time.

The Oldest Known Map of America

Among others, the islands of the Caribbean, the Gulf of Mexico, and the then-known coasts of South America were depicted in detail. Cuba, then known as Juana, was correctly depicted for the first time as an island, whereas Columbus believed that it was only a peninsula of the great Indian subcontinent. Thereby Juan de la Cosa not only relied upon his own findings – it was impossible for him to travel the entire known world – but also on the most diverse sources, e.g. by records from Amerigo Vespucci, Pedro Cabral, and older information from Vasco da Gama.

A Lucky Find in the 19th Century

Today the world map by Juan de la Cosa is found in the Museo Naval in Madrid. It was lost and forgotten for a long time and was first rediscovered in the 19th century. In 1832, Charles Walckenauer, a French map researcher and subsequent director of the map collection of the French National Library, made a sensational discovery in a small Parisian antiquarian book shop. The news of this discovery reached Alexander von Humboldt, who concerned himself with the world map by Juan de la Cosa in his writings. Presumably, the map was removed from the Vatican archives and sent to France during the Napoleonic Wars. In 1853, after the death of Tod Walckenauers, the document of such historical significance was finally acquired by the Spanish government and in this way was returned to its originally intended destination.