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First Detailed Map of The Discoveries of Le Maire and Schouten (Le Maire's Strait)

Important early map of the world, illustrating the voyage led by explorers Le Maire and Schouten, as well as the separate circumnavigation by Joris van Spilbergen.

The map is particularly notable for detailing the discovery of a new passage around Tierra del Fuego, which substantiated the insularity of Tierra Del Fuego, challenging previous beliefs about a southern continent. This discovery was crucial as it provided an alternative to the Strait of Magellan, undermining the Dutch East India Company's monopoly.

The map not only delineates the routes of these explorers but also marks important voyages by other Dutch explorers like Henry Hudson in Hudson’s Bay and Willem Barentsz in Nova Zemla. These notations underscore the broader narrative of Dutch navigation and their persistent efforts to discover new trade routes and territories. Spilbergen's work, which includes this map, was published in his account "Speculum Orientalis Occidentalisque Indiae Navigartionum" and stands as a detailed record of both his and Le Maire and Schouten’s expeditions.

Joris van Spilbergen's voyage was an important event in the era of Dutch exploration, marking a key moment in the clash between European powers for control of the sea routes and overseas territories. Spilbergen's circumnavigation, which took place from 1614 to 1617, was a mission of both exploration and privateering against Spanish interests during a time of intense rivalry. The voyage led Spilbergen across the Atlantic to South America, where he navigated through the Strait of Magellan, emerging into the Pacific Ocean. He conducted raids on Spanish possessions along the coast of Chile and Peru. Notably, he fought a naval battle at Callao, the port of Lima, which demonstrated Dutch naval prowess and challenged Spanish hegemony in the Pacific.

Spilbergen then crossed the Pacific, interacting with local populations in the Philippines and the Moluccas, before arriving in Batavia (present-day Jakarta). This route was critical in establishing Dutch presence in the East Indies, which would later become a stronghold for the Dutch East India Company (VOC).  Spilbergen's journey intersected with that of Le Maire and Schouten, whose discovery of a new route around Tierra del Fuego posed a direct challenge to the VOC's monopoly over the Strait of Magellan. The historical importance of Spilbergen's voyage lies in its contribution to global navigation, the Dutch colonial enterprise, and the geopolitical balance of the time, where naval power and access to trade routes were pivotal.

Rarity

The map is very rare on the market. 

This is the first example we have offered for sale.