The Spanish Concept of Florida

Exploring the Early Americas The Jay I. Kislak Collection

Pre-Contact America | Explorations and Encounters | Aftermath of the Encounter

Languages and Religion | Competition for Empire | Documenting New Knowledge

Cornelis van Wytfliet.
Descriptionis Ptolemaicae Augmentum… [Descriptions of Ptolemy Increased…].
Louvain: Tijpis Gerardi: Riuij. 1598.
Jay I. Kislak Collection, Rare Book and Special Collections Division, Library of Congress (110)

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Secretary to the Council of Brabant (Flanders), Cornelis van Wytfliet was also much interested in geography. His Descriptionis, considered to be the first atlas devoted to the Americas, includes nineteen maps of the region. His map designating “Florida” and “Apalache” is based on an earlier map by Jernimo de Chaves and reflects the Spanish concept of Florida as an extensive portion of southern North America rather than being merely an appendage or peninsula.