The First Map of the Philippines Based on the Murillo Velarde Map. An Early Plan of Intramuros.
A remarkable map of the Philipines, based on the Murillo Velarde map and representing one of the earliest separate modern maps of the islands. The map is here presented with the lengthy 116-page Jesuit relations on the island that describes the history and geography of the islands.
This edition of the map is dated 1743 and was published in 1748, apparently being the first reissue of the 1734 Murillo Velarde map, published in Manila. This map appears to take a number of its decorative elements from directly from the map, including the depiction of an alligator (?), the man in the hat, the star-shaped flowers, and the parasol hanging over the two. More importantly, the small plan of Manila in the upper left is a reduction of the lower right vignette in the Velarde map.
The Velarde work substantially updates the cartography of the islands. In the southern tip of Mindanao, a volcano erupts. Numerous cities, towns, ports, and reefs are shown throughout, an incredibly detailed look at the islands for the time.
The map is bound with parts 25, 26, 27, and 28 to the Des Neuen Welt-Botts, the German-language Jesuit Relations that were published in Vienna. This extensive work deals not only with the history and geography of the Philipines in 116 pages, but also with Jesuit efforts in South America, Africa, and elsewhere in Southeast Asia. Three further maps are included in the text:
- Paraquyaria in qua RRPP Soc Jesu suas Missiones promovere. . . 1733
- [Untitled Map of Africa, Brazil, and South Asia]
- Mocabiqum Africae Australis Insula in is o Latitudinis 62 56 Longitudinisis Sita
The Velarde Map of the Philippines
Probably the most famous and influential map of the Philippines, the Velarde map needs little introduction to Philippine collectors. This very rare work was first published in the Manila (although later editions were printed in England after the copperplates were displaced there) and represents a turning point in the mapping of the islands.
The mapping was executed by Jesuit missionaries, and, from the present map, it is apparent that Jesuits back in Europe were among the first to incorporate this geography into current maps. In the Velarde map and the Des Neuen Welt-Botts edition, we see a serious increase in the density of information in the archipelago, a rectification of the shape of many of the islands, and early mappings of Manila.
The timing of this map and its publication was fortuitous, for the Jesuits were expelled from the Philippines in 1768. However, their mapping of the island would endure long past their expulsion, influencing maps throughout the 18th century.
Quirino suggests map was first reproduced by Dalrymple in his Charts in London 1744 (Quirino, page 59), the same year as Murillo published his reduced Manilla edition, but Dalrymple was not publishing charts until much later, suggesting incorrect dating. The Dalrymple chart shows the Philippines on its side and lacks any decorative elements, including a Manila inset. The next edition of the map, per Quirino, is the present. This is one of the earliest representations of Manila in a map, following the layout established by Antonio Fernandez de Roxas in his Topographia de la Ciudad de Manila.
Rarity
We find no examples of the map or of this volume of the text trading in RBH. We find only one example of the map having sold in dealer records, without the text.