The New World Map and the Old The Moving Narrative of Joan Blaeu’s Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula (1648)
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| Publication date | 2020 |
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| Book title | Motion in maps, maps in motion |
| Book subtitle | Mapping stories and movement through time |
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| Pages (from-to) | 33-55 |
| Publisher | Amsterdam: Amsterdam University Press |
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| Abstract | In 1648, Joan Blaeu, cartographer in Amsterdam, issued an enormous wall map of the whole world, entitled Nova Totius Terrarum Orbis Tabula. This article explores Blaeu’s world map to discover the worldview it conveys. A close reading of the map, and especially of the hitherto neglected explanatory text below the map, reveals a telling story with a multi-layered message. The communicated narrative can be summarized as pro-Dutch (or actually pro-Holland), Euro-superior, male-dominated, in favour of Copernicanism, and optimistic about the progress of knowledge since classical times. |
| Document type | Chapter |
| Note | Also published by Routledge in 2025. |
| Language | English |
| Published at | https://doi.org/10.2307/j.ctv17ppcw7.5 https://doi.org/10.1017/9789048542956.002 https://doi.org/10.1515/9789048542956-004 https://doi.org/10.5117/9789463721103_ch01 |
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