The strategic island of Noronho in the western Atlantic was first included on Spanish charts of the area in 1500. It may be the "Quaresma" of the 'Cantino Planisphere' (1502). Amerigo Vespucci stepped foot on Noronho on August 10th, 1503, calling it St. Lawrence in honour of the saint whose feastday it was. It was a source for the lucrative commodity of Brazilwood, and the hideout of the pirate "Black Bart" in 1719.

Despite its losses, this is still an elegant example of a Dutch West India Company - WIC – manuscript chart possibly from their Brazil workshop.

The distinctive compass rose, by which cartographers of the VOC and WIC identified themselves, is unrecorded.

The island, situated below the equator, was not one of those on the "Waage Weg", or "Karrepad" route, prescribed by the VOC and WIC to navigate the doldrums between Africa and Brazil.

The West India Company (WIC), was founded in 1621 to "control trade in the West African and American coastal lands. Between 1602 and 1795, when these chartered companies existed, hundreds of mapmakers produced topographical maps of Dutch overseas territories and charts for navigating to and from them. Some mapmakers were based in the Netherlands, while others worked in the overseas territories.... After its capture by the Dutch in 1630, Recife in Brazil became the WIC's overseas administrative center to coordinate military and exploratory expeditions and hydrographic surveys. Whereas the equipagemeester and the Governor General directed cartographic work in Batavia, the admiral was responsible for hydrography in Brazil... For military engineers working for the WIC in Brazil in the 1630s, reconnaissance of Portuguese fortresses was a routine matter: before an attack was launched, they would usually prepare a map to inform the commanders. Such maps were usually reconnaissance survey based on estimates and not surveyed measurements. Military engineers were also present on Dutch naval fleets sailing in European, Mediterranean, and Atlantic waters" (Zandfliet).