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Description

Early view of the harbor at Rio De Janeiro, originally from Olivier Van Noort's Description du Penible Voyage Faict entour de l'Univers ou Globe Terrestre, published by Cornelis Claes in 1602 and a nearly exact copy of Estienne Roger's map of the region, which was later revised and reissued in Constantin Renneville's Recueil des voyages qui ont servi a l'etablissement et aux progres de la Compagnie des Indes Orientales, ... tome second, published in 1703.

While the map bears some strong similarities to the Renneville map, we believe it is a slighly later example, taken from a work which copied the Renneville plates. Below is a link to a map from the same series:

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Olivier van Noort (1558-1627) was the first Dutchman to circumnavigate the world. Van Noort left Rotterdam on July 2, 1598 with four ships and a plan to attack Spanish possessions in the Pacific and to trade with China and the Spice Islands. He initially landed at Rio Janeiro, Brazil, but was driven back, and along the coast suffered many losses by the attacks of the Indians. He resolved to winter in the deserted island of Santa Clara, then set sail again on June 2, 1599.

On June 29, 1599, he discovered an island near the coast of Patagonia, and stopped there to repair damages. On November 23, 1599, he entered the Strait of Magellan, and landed on the northern coast, where he was attacked by the Indians and again suffered many losses. Soon afterward he anchored among the Penguin islands, and subsequently he discovered the bays of Olivier, Mauritius, and Henry, but could not explore the latter on account of the ice.

On February, 1600, Van Noort and the remaining crew left the Strait of Magellan, and, entering the South sea, sailed along the Chilian and Peruvian coasts, pillaging and burning as he went, and capturing several Spanish ships. The viceroy, Luis Velasco, sent a fleet to capture him, but Noort had already set sail across the Pacific in the direction of the Ladrone Islands. He pillaged the Philippines, visited Java and Borneo, and, sailing round the Cape of Good Hope, arrived back in Rotterdam in August 26, 1601.

Van Noort returned to Rotterdam with only his last ship, the Mauritius, and 45 of his original crew of 248 men. The venture barely broke even, but was the inspiration for more such expeditions. The United Dutch East India Company (VOC) was formed a few months later. Van Noort's Description du Penible Voyage Faict entour de l'Univers ou Globe Terrestre, provides his account of the voyage, including a detailed account of the coasts of Brazil, Argentina, the Straits of Magellan, Chile, Peru and the subsequent Trans-Pacific Crossing.

Condition Description
Minor soiling.
Reference
Alden, J. 602/74; Sabin, J. 55436; Schilder, G. (Monumenta) VII, pp.312-316.