Date:

1514

Title:

Portolan Chart of the World

Cartographer:

Freducci, Conti de Ottoman (1539)

Summary:

Manuscript Portolan chart which shows the land named Florida, making this one of the first to use the name but definitely the first to apply the name to a landmass located in the approprtiate place with many coastal details and placenames. Also shown in detail are the islands on both sides of the Bahama Channel (later called the Gulf Stream) including the Bahamas and Florida Keys. The coastal placenames have been analyzed by David O. True and related to present names of some of the coastal features. All this was published in Tequesta IV in 1944 by the Historical Association of Southern Florida at the University of Miami. Some of the names are similar to those published by Herrera: The northernmost name on the chart is I. Florda (sic) which designates Florida as an island which goes along with the assumption that he based his description of the area on information from Ponce de Leon's discovery.

Freducci was from a family of portolan makers in Ancona, Italy and is credited with the production of fourteen charts and atlases from 1497 to 1538.

Note:

Image scanned from a reproduction in a private collection.

References: Tequesta (1941-2001).

Coverage Time:

1500s