Home > Discovery & First Spanish Period > Cortes Chart of the Gulf of Mexico

Date:

1520

Title:

Cortes Chart of the Gulf of Mexico

Cartographer:

Cortes, Hernando

Summary:

Hernando Cortes, the conqueror of Mexico, wrote a letter to King Carlos V of Spain dated 1524 with an image of Tinactitlan (Mexico City) and this chart of the Gulf of Mexico. It is based on Pineda's Chart after his cruise around the Gulf coast looking for a passage to the west and Pacific Ocean. The location of La Florida, Cuba and Yucatan are fairly accurate even though Yucatan is still shown as an island which it had been from the earliest maps.

Note:

Image from Schwartz and Ehrenburg (PL 10 and 11, 2000).

Coverage Time:

1500s