Mappe-Monde - Map of the World

    The map is a copper-plate engraving of the World in Hemispheres, as it was believed to be circa 1690.  The level of geography isn't high, due to the fact that it wasn't known/mapped accurately, so this map represents what was mapped & known about the world in the late 1600's.  The method of mapping in hemispheres was also a new technique so the coastlines of contintents look a bit more inaccurate than was the case.  The map has both the Equator & the Astronomical Equator clearly marked & the map is using the Ferro-Meridian.

    The Map of the World shows the Seven Continents that we know to exist today, but all are quite inaccurately mapped.  Europe is the only continent that has been mapped basically as it is, but due to the hemisphere projection it looks a bit "wrong".  Africa has been mapped to a reasonable accurate outline shape, but the coastlines are quite inaccurate, especially the western coastline & the Niger River.  South America is reasonably well mapped considering, but North America has California as an island, no north-western area of the landmass, and the north-eastern Artic region is quite inaccurately mapped (as it was up until early 1800's).  Asia is mostly mapped well, however it is "missing" a whole corner in the north-east were eastern Siberia & the Kamchatka Peninsula should be.  Australia is the least mapped continent, with the map only showing what had actually been mapped by the late 1600's (as opposed to making it up as was common).  Australia is named New Holland, with Tasmania named Diemens Land (plus also Diemens in New Holland - bit unusual) & only the the N-W & W coasts of Australian mainland (by Janz 1605-06) joined to New Guinea & the southern coastline of Tasmania had been mapped at that stage (Tasman 1642-43).  There is also the first mapping of New Zealand, but is only half of the western coastline that had been mapped by Tasman in 1643.

    The map attempts to show the coastline of Antartica or Terra Australis as it was known, but the coastline shown is simply a guess - no mapping of the region had yet taken place.  The Galapagos Islands are shown, named as Isles Salomon.  Across the bottom of Africa is Cap de B. Esperan, standing for Cape de Bonne Esperance, the French name for the Cape of Good Hope which was a very important point in ocean navigation.   The main islands of South East Asia, and some of the Pacific islands have been included, as well as Madagascar, and a number of other islands scattered around the oceans - these would have been based on the recent explorations of Portuguese & Dutch explorers.  The map has ony the names of the continents, and a few other "important names" - you have to remember this map is over 300 years and little was known about the world.