Page 238 - Art In The Age Of Exploration (Great Section on Chinese Art Ming Dynasty)

China (Cataio provi[ncia] is written north of Cali- (Santangel was treasurer of the Santa Hermandad, the Chinese emperor, the "Grand Khan." Colum-
fornia, and Cataio p., on China). North America the urban league set up by Ferdinand and Isabel- bus noted that he had not found the "human
is, however, linked to South America, which was la), and Gabriel Sanchez, treasurer of the crown of monstrosities" that many had expected to inhabit
not the case on the Cantino and Waldseemuller Aragon. One copy reached a printer's shop in these distant regions, though he had encountered
(cat. 132) maps. South America is identified as Barcelona and appeared as a pamphlet in Spanish cannibals and had heard of an island inhabited
Mundus Novus; Peru is also indicated, having by the summer of 1493. A Latin translation by solely by women. He promised to be able to
been conquered by Francisco Pizarro, who set out Leandro de Cosco, made from a better text than supply "as much gold as [their highnesses] may
from Panama in 1530 and sacked Cuzco —which is the manuscript used by the Barcelona printer, need," spice, cotton, mastic, aloeswood, and
shown on the map —in 1533. The Rio de la Plata served as the basis for nine editions of the letter slaves. Columbus' letter was soon eclipsed in
and the Straits of Magellan are indicated, the ("Letter concerning the newly discovered islands popularity by the Mundus Novus ("New World"),
latter with an uncharted land stretching towards in the Indian Ocean") that appeared in 1493-1494 a sensationalized adaptation of Amerigo Vespuc-
the Antarctic circle. Especially interesting is the in Rome, Paris, Basel, and Antwerp and for an ci's account of his voyages to South America, of
fact that the map records, with a continuous line, Italian verse translation by Giuliano Dati, of which sixty editions had appeared by the late
the route of Magellan, who left Seville in Septem- which three versions were printed in 1493 in 15205, as compared to a total of twenty-two edi-
ber 1519 with five ships, only one of which, the Rome and Florence. tions of the Columbus letter.
Victoria, completed the circumnavigation of the The numerous translations and printings indi- In this Basel edition of 1493, an anonymous
globe to return to Spain in 1522 with its captain cate that the demand for news of Columbus' woodcut labeled Insula hyspana represents
Sebastian del Cano, a crew of fifteen men, and a voyage was high. The literate public of Europe Columbus' encounter with the timorous, naked
precious cargo. The other sea course that is indi- thus learned of the voyage essentially in the natives. This woodcut depicts Columbus' ship as a
cated in gold, running from the New World to explorer's own words. He described the islands he galley with an auxiliary sail, a craft more suitable
Spain, is the route of the Spanish treasure fleet. had visited, the timid "Indians" he had encoun- for use in the Mediterranean (a similar galley is
J.M.M. tered, who "go naked... as their mothers bore visible at the lower right of (cat. 151) Jacopo de'
them," and his hope that they would be converted Barbari's View of Venice). Other illustrations in
to Christianity and that Hispaniola would serve as this edition contain more appropriate representa-
a base for trade with the mainland belonging to tions of ocean-going sailing ships. j. A.L.

136
COLUMBUS' LANDING

from Christopher Columbus, De insulis inventis
Epistola, Basel, 1493 (fol. iv)
woodcut
l
2
13.5 X 10.5 ($ /4 X 4 /8J
references: Morison 1942, i, 413-414; Hirsch 1976;
Gerbi 1986, 45-49; Taviani 1984; Jane 1988, cxxm-
CXLHIand
1-19
The John Carter Brown Library at Brown University,
Providence

In late January or early February 1493, during his
homeward passage from the West Indies, Christo-
pher Columbus composed a short letter describing
his voyage. Not addressed to anyone specifically
(it begins with the salutation "Sir" and bears the
date 15 February), it was evidently intended as a
general announcement of his achievement. It was
enclosed with another letter, addressed to Ferdi-
nand and Isabella and since lost, as well as a
detailed Journal of the voyage (the original of
which has long since disappeared); these docu-
ments were sent to the king and queen when he
arrived in Lisbon. Ferdinand and Isabella had this
general letter copied and distributed to various
officials who had been involved in mounting the
expedition, including to Luis de Santangel, who
had arranged the financing of Columbus' fleet

EUROPE AND THE MEDITERRANEAN WORLD 237