The Padrão Real (, translated into English as ''Royal Pattern'') was a cartographic work of Portuguese mastery produced secretly and maintained by the organization of the Portuguese Royal Court in the 16th century. The work was available to the scientific elite of the time, being exposed in the Casa da Índia (House of India). In the Padrão Real the new discoveries of the Portuguese were constantly added and mapped. The first Padrão Real was produced in the time of

Henry the Navigator ''Dom'' Henrique of Portugal, Duke of Viseu (4 March 1394 – 13 November 1460), better known as Prince Henry the Navigator ( pt, Infante Dom Henrique, o Navegador), was a central figure in the early days of the Portuguese Empire and in the 15t ...

, even before the existence of the Casa da Índia. The Padrão Real of the House of India hung from the ceiling in the Division of Maps as the Portuguese masterpiece, extremely secretive and guarded of foreign spies and merchants. The Padrão Real included the complete record of the Portuguese discoveries, public and secret. The House of India issued maps based on the Padrão Real to navigators in Royal service. The

Cantino planisphere The Cantino planisphere or Cantino world map is a manuscript Portuguese world map preserved at the Biblioteca Estense in Modena, Italy. It is named after Alberto Cantino, an agent for the Duke of Ferrara, who successfully smuggled it from Portugal ...

(1502) is a copy of the Padrão Real, possibly produced by some Portuguese bribed cartographer. It is conjectured that Cantino was able to bribe a cartographer to copy the map between December 1501 and October 1502. From a letter signed by Cantino it is thought that he sent the map to the

Duke of Ferrara Emperor Frederick III conferred Borso d'Este, Lord of Ferrara, with the Duchy of Modena and Reggio in 1452, while Pope Paul II formally elevated him in 1471 as Duke of Ferrara, over which the family had in fact long presided. This latter territo ...

on November 19, 1502. The Padrão Real was lost in time. However a copy (Cantino planisphere) still exists. The Spanish counterpart of the Portuguese Padrão Real was the

Padrón Real The Padrón Real (, ''Royal Register''), known after 2 August 1527 as the Padrón General (, ''General Register''), was the official and secret Spanish master map used as a template for the maps present on all Spanish ships during the 16th century ...

, officially established by the Spanish Monarchs in 1508, in the

Casa de Contratación The ''Casa de Contratación'' (, House of Trade) or ''Casa de la Contratación de las Indias'' ("House of Trade of the Indies") was established by the Crown of Castile, in 1503 in the port of Seville (and transferred to Cádiz in 1717) as a cro ...

References

*
Note on the Castiglioni Planisphere
', Armando Cortesão, Imago Mundi, Vol. 11, 1954 (1954), pp. 53–55 * Harvey, Miles
The Island of Lost Maps: A True Story of Cartographic Crime
'. New York:

Random House Random House is an American book publisher and the largest general-interest paperback publisher in the world. The company has several independently managed subsidiaries around the world. It is part of Penguin Random House, which is owned by Germ ...

, 2000. . (Also ). {{DEFAULTSORT:Padrao Real 16th-century maps and globes Portuguese Empire Maritime history of Portugal Portuguese exploration in the Age of Discovery