''Dell'Arcano del Mare'' by Sir Robert Dudley is a 17th-century maritime encyclopaedia, the sixth part of which comprises a maritime

atlas An atlas is a collection of maps; it is typically a bundle of world map, maps of Earth or of a continent or region of Earth. Advances in astronomy have also resulted in atlases of the celestial sphere or of other planets. Atlases have traditio ...

of the entire world, which is the first such in print, the first made by an Englishman, and the first to use the Mercator projection. The work was first published in Italian at

Florence Florence ( ; ) is the capital city of the Italy, Italian region of Tuscany. It is also the most populated city in Tuscany, with 362,353 inhabitants, and 989,460 in Metropolitan City of Florence, its metropolitan province as of 2025. Florence ...

in 1645 and 1646 in three

folio The term "folio" () has three interconnected but distinct meanings in the world of books and printing: first, it is a term for a common method of arranging Paper size, sheets of paper into book form, folding the sheet only once, and a term for ...

volumes. Among other things, it is remarkable for its inclusion of a proposal for the construction of a navy in five rates (sizes) which Dudley designed and described. It was reprinted in Florence in a two volume folio edition in 1661 without the charts of the first edition. The seventh map is dedicated to Dudley's patrons,

Ferdinando II de' Medici Ferdinando II de' Medici (14 July 1610 – 23 May 1670) was grand duke of Tuscany from 1621 to 1670. He was the eldest son of Cosimo II de' Medici and Maria Maddalena of Austria. Remembered by his contemporaries as a man of culture and scie ...

, the

Grand Duke of Tuscany Grand may refer to: People with the name * Grand (surname) * Grand L. Bush (born 1955), American actor Places * Grand, Oklahoma, USA * Grand, Vosges, village and commune in France with Gallo-Roman amphitheatre * Grand County (disambiguation), se ...

and the

Grand Duchess of Tuscany The Grand Duchy of Tuscany was founded in 1569. It succeeded the Duchy of Florence. The grand duchy was initially ruled by the House of Medici, until their extinction in 1737. The grand duchy passed to the House of Lorraine, and then, to its cad ...

Vittoria della Rovere Vittoria della Rovere (7 February 1622 – 5 March 1694) was Grand Duchess of Tuscany as the wife of Grand Duke Ferdinando II. She had four children with her husband, two of whom would survive infancy: the future Cosimo III, Tuscany's longes ...

. The map covers the northeast coast of

South America South America is a continent entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a considerably smaller portion in the Northern Hemisphere. It can also be described as the southern Subregion#Americas, subregion o ...

, which Dudley had visited in 1594. The area depicted covers modern

French Guiana French Guiana, or Guyane in French, is an Overseas departments and regions of France, overseas department and region of France located on the northern coast of South America in the Guianas and the West Indies. Bordered by Suriname to the west ...

Guyana Guyana, officially the Co-operative Republic of Guyana, is a country on the northern coast of South America, part of the historic British West Indies. entry "Guyana" Georgetown, Guyana, Georgetown is the capital of Guyana and is also the co ...

, and a small portion of

Brazil Brazil, officially the Federative Republic of Brazil, is the largest country in South America. It is the world's List of countries and dependencies by area, fifth-largest country by area and the List of countries and dependencies by population ...

. The map also depicts "Monoa", the area otherwise known as

El Dorado El Dorado () is a mythical city of gold supposedly located somewhere in South America. The king of this city was said to be so rich that he would cover himself from head to foot in gold dust – either daily or on certain ceremonial occasions � ...

Scope

The six-part work covered

navigation Navigation is a field of study that focuses on the process of monitoring and controlling the motion, movement of a craft or vehicle from one place to another.Bowditch, 2003:799. The field of navigation includes four general categories: land navig ...

shipbuilding Shipbuilding is the construction of ships and other Watercraft, floating vessels. In modern times, it normally takes place in a specialized facility known as a shipyard. Shipbuilders, also called shipwrights, follow a specialized occupation th ...

and

astronomy Astronomy is a natural science that studies celestial objects and the phenomena that occur in the cosmos. It uses mathematics, physics, and chemistry in order to explain their origin and their overall evolution. Objects of interest includ ...

, with 130

map A map is a symbolic depiction of interrelationships, commonly spatial, between things within a space. A map may be annotated with text and graphics. Like any graphic, a map may be fixed to paper or other durable media, or may be displayed on ...

s in two volumes (nos. 2 and 6) . Unlike the vast majority of his contemporaries, Dudley's maps are all his own and were not copied from other mapmakers. They have an instantly recognisable style, closer to the pre-17th-century manuscript

portolan chart Portolan charts are nautical charts, first made in the 13th century in the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean basin and later expanded to include other regions. The word ''portolan'' comes from the Italian language, Italian ''portolano'', meaning " ...

s than the richly decorated maps of Mercator, Hondius and

Blaeu Blaeu is the name of * Willem Blaeu (1571–1638), Dutch cartographer and father of Joan Blaeu * Joan Blaeu (1596–1673), Dutch cartographer and son of Willem Blaeu * ''Blaeu Atlas of Scotland'', by Joan Blaeu, published in 1654 * ''Atlas Blaeu'' ...

Style

The distinctive

Baroque The Baroque ( , , ) is a Western Style (visual arts), style of Baroque architecture, architecture, Baroque music, music, Baroque dance, dance, Baroque painting, painting, Baroque sculpture, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished from ...

style of Dudley's charts is in part attributable to the elegant engraving of Antonio Francesco Lucini. His map making is an early use of Mercator projection.

Individual maps

Carta Particolare Che Mostra Il Capo Buona Speranza

"Carta Particolare Che Mostra Il Capo Buona Speranza" is a very large sea chart of southwest Africa from Cape Fria to

Cape of Good Hope The Cape of Good Hope ( ) is a rocky headland on the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic coast of the Cape Peninsula in South Africa. A List of common misconceptions#Geography, common misconception is that the Cape of Good Hope is the southern tip of Afri ...

, including

Tristan da Cunha Tristan da Cunha (), colloquially Tristan, is a remote group of volcano, volcanic islands in the South Atlantic Ocean. It is one of three constituent parts of the British Overseas Territories, British Overseas Territory of Saint Helena, Ascensi ...

Carta Quarta Generale di Europa

"Carta Quarta Generale di Europa", 1646 is one of the larger scale, generalised (Carta Generale) maps and shows the West coast of France, southward from

La Rochelle La Rochelle (, , ; Poitevin-Saintongeais: ''La Rochéle'') is a city on the west coast of France and a seaport on the Bay of Biscay, a part of the Atlantic Ocean. It is the capital of the Charente-Maritime Departments of France, department. Wi ...

, and the Northern coast of Spain. This is the least ornate of the styles adopted by Dudley with no adornment other than the cartouche and a compass rose and fairly plain

calligraphy Calligraphy () is a visual art related to writing. It is the design and execution of lettering with a pen, ink brush, or other writing instruments. Contemporary calligraphic practice can be defined as "the art of giving form to signs in an e ...

Smaller scale maps

Four additional maps represent the majority of the smaller scale, more specific (''Carta Particolare'') maps and include sailing ships, notes on prevailing winds and

current Currents, Current or The Current may refer to: Science and technology * Current (fluid), the flow of a liquid or a gas ** Air current, a flow of air ** Ocean current, a current in the ocean *** Rip current, a kind of water current ** Current (hydr ...

s and more stylised calligraphy.

Carta Particolare della Costa Australe scoperta dalla Ollandesia

"Carta Particolare della Costa Australe scoperta dalla Ollandesia", 1646. According to Tooley, this map is the first separately printed map of Australia and is consequently of great value. It shows, in addition to the west side of the

Cape York peninsula The Cape York Peninsula is a peninsula located in Far North Queensland, Australia. It is the largest wilderness in northern Australia.Mittermeier, R.E. et al. (2002). Wilderness: Earth's last wild places. Mexico City: Agrupación Sierra Madre, ...

, much of the island of

New Guinea New Guinea (; Hiri Motu: ''Niu Gini''; , fossilized , also known as Papua or historically ) is the List of islands by area, world's second-largest island, with an area of . Located in Melanesia in the southwestern Pacific Ocean, the island is ...

. By labelling the

Torres Strait The Torres Strait (), also known as Zenadh Kes ( Kalaw Lagaw Ya#Phonology 2, �zen̪ad̪ kes, is a strait between Australia and the Melanesian island of New Guinea. It is wide at its narrowest extent. To the south is Cape York Peninsula, ...

"Golfo Incognito" Dudley leaves open the question of whether New Guinea is connected to the Southern continent.

Carta Particolare della Rio d' Amazone con la costa sin al fiume Maranhan

"Carta Particolare della Rio d' Amazone con la costa sin al fiume Maranhan" of 1646 shows the mouth of the Amazon River.

Carta particolare che comincia con l' Isola di S. Tomaso o Tome....Clara e finisce con Il c. d' Aldeas

"Carta particolare che comincia con l' Isola di S. Tomaso o Tome....Clara e finisce con Il c. d' Aldeas". This map of the shoreline of the African Congo includes an elegant cartouche, and islands off the coastline.

Carta particolare della Brasilia Australe che comincia dala Poro del Spirito Santo e finisce con il capo Bianco

"Carta particolare della Brasilia Australe che comincia dala Poro del Spirito Santo e finisce con il capo Bianco" reveals a strip of the southern

coastline and includes

São Paulo São Paulo (; ; Portuguese for 'Paul the Apostle, Saint Paul') is the capital of the São Paulo (state), state of São Paulo, as well as the List of cities in Brazil by population, most populous city in Brazil, the List of largest cities in the ...

and the area later to become

Rio de Janeiro Rio de Janeiro, or simply Rio, is the capital of the Rio de Janeiro (state), state of Rio de Janeiro. It is the List of cities in Brazil by population, second-most-populous city in Brazil (after São Paulo) and the Largest cities in the America ...

. Noted for some of the most peculiar representations of mountains near the coastline found on any Dudley map.

and a small portion of Brazil.

Untitled, (N-E South America)

The seventh map is one of only two in the atlas which have no title but instead dedications to

, the

and, in this case, the

, Dudley's patrons. This is another double page map and probably comes from the 1646 edition. These two maps are probably different because they are the only ones where Dudley was able to use his own observations as they cover the North East coast of South America, the area he visited in 1594. This map shows the coasts of French Guiana, Guyana and a small portion of Brazil. Considerably more elaborate than the others, this map includes soundings and numerous illustrations, namely: two ships, a

canoe A canoe is a lightweight, narrow watercraft, water vessel, typically pointed at both ends and open on top, propelled by one or more seated or kneeling paddlers facing the direction of travel and using paddles. In British English, the term ' ...

, two magnificent

sea monster Sea monsters are beings from folklore believed to dwell in the sea and are often imagined to be of immense size. Marine monsters can take many forms, including sea dragons, sea serpents, or tentacled beasts. They can be slimy and scaly and are of ...

s, a (?)

cougar The cougar (''Puma concolor'') (, ''Help:Pronunciation respelling key, KOO-gər''), also called puma, mountain lion, catamount and panther is a large small cat native to the Americas. It inhabits North America, North, Central America, Cent ...

and two natives. It also has a legend stating that Monoa – more often known as

– is only 12 days' journey up-river from the coast.

References

Sir Robert Dudley. (2009). In ''Encyclopædia Britannica''. Retrieved October 15, 2009, from ''Encyclopædia Britannica'' Online

Gerard L'Estrange Turner, ''Elizabethan instrument makers: the origins of the London trade in precision instrument making'', Oxford University Press, Oxford 2000, pages 77–91

External links

''Dell'Arcano del Mare'', 1646
Digitized by the National Library of Finland (large PDF files). {{DEFAULTSORT:Dell'arcano Del Mare Book series introduced in the 1640s 1645 books 1646 books 1661 non-fiction books 1645 in Italy 1661 in the Grand Duchy of Tuscany 17th-century encyclopedias Atlases English non-fiction books British encyclopedias Italian encyclopedias Encyclopedias in Italian Encyclopedias of science History of Florence