Nova Anglia Novum Belgium et Virginia

Johannes Janssonius (1588-1664)
Nova Anglia Novum Belgium et Virginia
Amsterdam, 1636-1638
Hand-colored copperplate engraving
Sheet size: 19" x 22"
Framed size: 24" x 28"
$9,100

Nova Anglia Novum Belgium et Virginia is an exquisite representation of Johannes Jansson’s elegant cartography from the middle of the 17th century. Jansson’s work marks the height of Dutch power in the newly discovered continent of America. A large heart shaped cartouche marks the middle left corner, and in the lower right hand corner is an inset establishing scale and noting Jansson as the map’s executor. While the sparseness of this map accurately represents the mostly unexplored interior of North America, what is represented shows how far mapping and settlement
had come since the 14th century.

In 1524 Italian explorer Verrazano was the first to verify that the East Coast was a continuous shoreline. It was not until almost 100 years later that the drive for exploration turned into the need for settlement, and the East Coast began being mapped in extensive detail. Explorers were also driven by their governmental benefactors’ quest for power through land ownership and trade. In 1609, the Dutch sent the first settlers via Henry Hudson to the New World. Granted a monopoly on land and its resulting commerce, the Dutch West India Company established the Dutch Colony of New Netherland (Nieuw-Nederland in Dutch) in 1623.