Maps Speaking Volumes

http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1633m4.jpg  "Virginiae item et Floridae"
http://www.libs.uga.edu/darchive/hargrett/maps/1665b5.jpg "Americae nova tabula"

In AP composition we have been reading a lot about American history; one of our last readings was "Crafting Whiteness in Early America" by Valarie Babb. In her essay, she used cartography to help create an image of how early European settlers viewed the new land. By doing so, she was able to effectively illustrate some aspects of the current American ideology.

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I have chosen two different maps that I believe give a good representation of what early settlers thought of what they found in America and how it applied to them. The first is a close up of Virginia called "Virginiae item et Floridae" and the second was of the entire north and south Americas called "Americae nova tabula".

Both maps I have chosen have representative images of the natives found in different regions. In the larger map of both south and north america, the natives are mainly characterized either interacting with what appears to be Europeans, or there are European influence present such as architecture and dress. This obvious demonstration of European influence dictates the extensive ownership felt by the colonist. Although the Virginian map also illustrates trading with the natives, the artwork on the actual land of the map is that of animals and foliage, giving it the image of desolation. The lack of occupancy shows a "revelation of how colonial powers saw themselves in relation to the lands they sought to conquer."(Babb 49)

In the oceans of both maps there is an emphasis on explorations and seafaring. Large ships sailing into unclaimed land from unseen shores are depicted from all sides of the map. Monsters and serpents also prowl the treacherous waters, filling in the unknown portions of the vast oceans. This could be taken as the explorers using art to express the horrors of sailing through the treacherous seas. On the Virginian map, not only does it have a ship sailing to shore, but also a canoe being paddled by the native Americans along the coast.

The body of the maps, however, did not entirely embody all of the illustrations. Around the boarder of the second map there are many drawings of of colonist and savages together. Going around the map, on either side there are sets of two or three people outfitted in native attire  and along the top boarder a series of indigenous settlements giving the viewer a feel of the different and unique customs of the native people. In contrast, the other map sports a large title block that shows an early European settlement on the left and the much larger and greater settlement on the right.