Cantino Planisphere (Planisfério de Cantino) Year: 1989 Reproduction (16th Century Original) Call Number: MAP-1989-05 The Cantino Planisphere is one of the most iconic world maps of the Portuguese Age of Discovery in the early 16th century. It is also the earliest extant map to mark the demarcation line of the Treaty of Tordesillas, an agreement between the monarchs of Spain and Portugal that divided the world into two spheres of influence. This imaginary dividing line ran along the center of the Atlantic Ocean, assigning America to Spain and West Africa, and the area beyond the Cape of Good Hope to Portugal. The map also features dramatic content, as it was a copy of a confidential map of the Portuguese government and was named because of the words “Presented by Cantino to Ercole, Duke of Ferrara”. This valuable map, which was used as a screen, was discovered by chance in a butcher’s shop by staff at the Estense Library in Italy in the late 19th century. The map was drawn on three sheets of parchment and is rich in color, with images of animals, plants, compass flowers, the demarcation lines of Pope Alexander VI, etc. The map incorrectly depicts the coastline of East Asia as an almost straight line. However, unlike most contemporary maps, the East Asian section does not have place names such as “Qinni”, “Khitan”, and “Manzi”, reflecting the author’s cautious attitude towards East Asian geography. 51 06
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