Joan Blaeu, Madagascar Map, 17th Century

Joan Blaeu, Madagascar Map, 17th Century

Madagascar is an island country in the Indian Ocean, off the coast of East Africa. The nation comprises the island of Madagascar, and numerous smaller peripheral islands. Following the prehistoric breakup of the supercontinent Gondwana, Madagascar split from the Indian peninsula around 88 million years ago, allowing native plants and animals to evolve in relative isolation. Madagascar is a biodiversity hotspot, over 90% of its wildlife is found nowhere else on Earth. Joan Blaeu (1596-1673) was a Dutch cartographer, the son of cartographer Willem Blaeu. In 1635 they published the Atlas Novus (full title: Theatrum orbis terrarum, sive, Atlas novus) in two volumes. The Atlas Maior is the final version of Joan Blaeu's atlas, published in Amsterdam between 1662 and 1672, in Latin, French, Dutch, German and Spanish, containing 594 maps and around 3,000 pages of text. The Blaeu maps emphasized fine art and colours, being the most expensive of the time.

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4200 x 3231 px | 38.8 MB

35.6 x 27.4 cm | 14.0 x 10.8 in (300 dpi)