Geography Reference
In-Depth Information
to meet demand in Europe. A sailing route is shown from Cape Verde across the Atlantic, to
South America at the lower edge.
The map is entitled 'A chart of the Seacoasts from the Landsend of England to Cape Bona
Esperanca'. East is at the top, with the Cape of Good Hope at far right, and southern England
at the far left. The meridian of the Lizard is used, rather than the modern zero point at Green-
wich; it runs from near Lands End, horizontally under the feet of the seated figures. The map
is drawn to make it appear that by sailing south, like the ship pictured, one soon encountered
'Maroco', by the Barbary Coast. Continuing along the African shoreline, a Company ship
would find all of its trading places, such as Benin, Gabon and Angola. Guinea provided Com-
pany gold to the Royal Mint for the coins given that name, each stamped with an elephant,
while the Gambia was a source of ivory (or 'elephants' teeth').
Like the chart
Seas of the midnight sun
, this is a plate from John Seller's
Atlas Maritimus
.
In 1671 he was made Royal Hydrographer by Charles II, whose brother James, Duke of York,
was a governor of the Royal African Company. It was said that James intervened when Seller,
a non-conformist, had been accused of conspiracy against the King; whatever the truth of
this, Seller also dedicated other works to the Duke. Although Seller's royal appointment gave
him a privileged position to publish nautical atlases, the title 'hydrographer' did not mean
that his charts necessarily focused on navigation. This one, although it does show detail of
coastlines, seems to be more a marketing exercise for the Company and for Seller himself.
European mapmakers at this date knew very little about the interior of Africa. As the satir-
ist Jonathan Swift remarked:
So geographers, in Afric maps
,
With savage pictures fill their gaps
,
And o'er unhabitable downs
Place elephants for want of towns
.
On this map, the technique of disguising lack of knowledge about the middle of the contin-
ent by adding carefully-placed animals is given a twist. The space is filled with decoration,
including the Royal African Company's emblem of an elephant saddled with a castle.
