After spending hundreds of years abandoned amongst the dusty shelves of a German castle, the 1507 Waldseemuller map now attracts millions of Americans to one of the world’s most prestigious libraries. When I first arrived at the Library of Congress, I had no idea where to go or what to look for. I imagined something average in size, maybe a meter in length, that relatively resembled the modern world. However, as I wandered through the displays of unique pottery and ancient relics, my expectations were greatly surpassed. Standing in front of me, was a 4 by 8 foot national treasure. Before I even glanced at the name, I knew that this was it.
The map’s significance is brought forth by many factors. For one, every centimeter is covered in an extraordinarily beautiful piece of knowledge; it is difficult to imagine that this image was first carved backwards into wood, and then printed onto paper. Using this method, hundreds of copies were then made, but to this day, only one remains. The preservation is extraordinary- the map appears to be 50 years old, not 500. But perhaps the most significant reason as to why the United States paid a colossal $10 million for it, was because this was America’s birth certificate- it was the first time America was mentioned on a map.
The first thing I instinctually did was pull up a modern world map on my phone in order to compare the shapes of the continents to what we know today; these images show that Europeans were quite insightful into the world around them. Upon closer examination, I noticed that the distance from Europe directly correlated with the number of errors- meaning the farther away the land was, the less accurate it was portrayed. Since the lands closest to Europe were more easily accessible, they became the ones that were most explored, and therefore offered greater and more exact detail. Africa and Europe appear to be almost perfectly documented for this reason; this component of the map is the most congested portraying a significantly more about of data compared to the surrounding world.
Asia comes in third place in terms of accuracy with the rest of the world staggering behind. China and India, two of the most important leaders in trade at the time, are incredibly unproportional. This was done because of unfamiliarity, however, I also believe that their economic stance at the time played an important role. During the 15th- 16th centuries, China and India were famous for their exported goods; they represented wealth and some of the finest things the world had to offer. Therefore, exaggerating their size would not be absurd given their power and influence. Whether it be intentional or accidental, these two countries are portrayed to be much larger in relation to the actual territory we see today.
The Western Hemisphere automatically opens up a discussion into uncertainty, which again is not a surprise due to its distance and lack of exploration. The map completely fails to acknowledge the existence of the United States, Canada, and Greenland and compresses this territory into something as small as modern day Alaska. However, what is impressively done is the eastern coast of Central and South America. The islands within the Caribbean Sea and the shape of the Gulf of Mexico are very well documented, and the proportions and positioning of each part of land is astounding. The reason for a focus on these areas rather than North America has to do with the voyages Waldseemuller had previously heard about. Amerigo Vespucci had reported South America while Columbus initially cited Central America. Given this limited information, Waldseemuller composed a map that included only these two territories.
This map is a fascinating part of not only American, but global history as well. It recounts engaging information such as the existence of elephants in Africa and birds in South America. It gives credit to Amerigo Vespucci and his travels to the new world. But most importantly, it opens up a new discussion into what treasures may lie in this undiscovered western territory, and inspires hundreds of people to discover these riches on their own.