Chasing the Cinnamologus: Luis Teixeira’s World Map of 1604

In 2011 Daniel Crouch Rare Books acquired the only surviving complete example of Luis Teixeira’s 1604 Magna Orbis Terrarum Nova. In 2015 another copy came to light. Monumental seventeenth century wall maps, it appears, are like London buses: you wait 400 years, and then two come along at once!

The map is noteworthy for both for its portrayal of a vast southern continent, and the depiction of the Southern Pacific at the dawn of Dutch exploration of Southeast Asia and Australasia, and for its focus on the spice trade between Europe and the Far East.

The talk takes a deep dive into the story of the map; the motivation behind its production, the sources used, its composition and structure, its publication, its marketing, and its impact. It is a story that encompasses the works of Herodotus, Shakespeare, and two naughty Dutch brothers; it is also a story of scientific truths, of cutting-edge technologies, and of blatant propaganda; and it is a story of the birth of the stockmarket, maritime insurance, and global capitalism.

This event was part of the Southern Frontiers: Mapping Myths and Realities Conference.