Mapmaker: Willem Jansz Blaeu

Willem Jansz Blaeu (1571-1638), surveyor, globe maker and publisher, was the head of a map-making firm with his two sons Joan and Cornelis whose remarkable achievements give it the supremacy in map production in any age.

This map of New Netherland and New England derives from Adriaen Block’s 1614 hand-drawn chart. The chart defined Manhattan and Long Island as islands after Block’s explorations of Long Island Sound and coastal waters up to Cape Cod and it served as the cornerstone for Dutch claims to the lower Northeast.

Blaeu’s map replaces De Laet’s “Manhattes” with “Manatthans.” It is generously decorated with deer, foxes, bears, egrets, rabbits, cranes, turkeys, beavers, polecats and otters. Its elegant calligraphy and cartouche combine the clarity of its engraving and bright coloring to reinforce its appeal to colonize. Two fortified Indian villages, several canoes and European ships hint at the economic potential of the settlement. The map also testifies to the growing importance of aesthetics in map making, as Dutch cartographers reflect the flamboyant Baroque style and the burgeoning Golden Age.