''Islario'' ''general de todas las islas del mundo'' (1541) is a
geography
Geography (from Greek: , ''geographia''. Combination of Greek words ‘Geo’ (The Earth) and ‘Graphien’ (to describe), literally "earth description") is a field of science devoted to the study of the lands, features, inhabitants, and ...
text in four volumes by
Alonzo de Santa Cruz
Alonzo de Santa Cruz (or Alonso, Alfonso) (1505 – 1567) was a Spanish cartographer, mapmaker, instrument maker, historian and teacher. He was born about 1505, and died in November 1567. His maps were inventoried in 1572.
Alonzo de Santa Cruz was ...
about the islands of the world.
Composition
The ''Islario'' was a monumental undertaking, composed of eight regional maps and 103 local maps, and a map of Mexico. Some volumes of the work are dedicated to
Charles V Charles V may refer to:
* Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor (1500–1558)
* Charles V of Naples (1661–1700), better known as Charles II of Spain
* Charles V of France (1338–1380), called the Wise
* Charles V, Duke of Lorraine (1643–1690)
* Infan ...
.
The work contains maps as well as description in prose. It resembles ''De situ orbis'' of
Pomponius Mela
Pomponius Mela, who wrote around AD 43, was the earliest Roman geographer. He was born in Tingentera (now Algeciras) and died AD 45.
His short work (''De situ orbis libri III.'') remained in use nearly to the year 1500. It occupies less ...
in organization, taking its literary form from the physical layout of the geographic features it describes. A substantial portion of the information Santa Cruz reports is also derived from ancient geographical texts. Sánchez argues that the New World portion of the text was, like a number of other 16th-century works of geography, 'produced to facilitate control and domination of the New World'.
It contains either the first or second account of
llamas
The llama (; ) (''Lama glama'') is a domesticated South American camelid, widely used as a meat and pack animal by Andean cultures since the Pre-Columbian era.
Llamas are social animals and live with others as a herd. Their wool is soft ...
in Western cartography.
Archival preservation
Three manuscript copies of the ''Islario'' are known. One is located in the City Library of
Besançon
Besançon (, , , ; archaic german: Bisanz; la, Vesontio) is the prefecture of the department of Doubs in the region of Bourgogne-Franche-Comté. The city is located in Eastern France, close to the Jura Mountains and the border with Switzerl ...
, and two copies are in the Imperial Library of
Vienna
en, Viennese
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, registration_plate = W
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, timezone = CET
, utc_offset = +1
, timezone_DST ...
.
See also
*
Benedetto Bordone
Notes
Sources
*
*
Further reading
* A 1918 edition of the ''Islario''.
External links
*
{{DEFAULTSORT:Islario General
1541 books
Historic maps of the world
Geography by island
Atlases