Map of Céspedes Xeria
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Map of Céspedes Xeria | |
|---|---|
_-_1,_Acervo_do_Museu_Paulista_da_USP_(cropped).jpg) Detail from the Map of Céspedes Xeria | |
| Original title | Mapa del río Ayembí y del Paraná, con sus afluentes, que recorrió Luis de Céspedes Jería, gobernador del Paraguay, al entrar en su jurisdicción desde Brasil |
| Created | 1626 |
| Presented | 1627 |
| Location | General Archive of the Indies, Seville, Spain |
| Author(s) | Luis de Céspedes García Xería |
| Media type | map |
| Subject | Geography of Southeast Region of Brazil |
The Map of Céspedes Xeria (Portuguese: Mapa de Céspedes Xeria or Map of the Ayembí y del Paraná River, with its tributaries, which Luis de Céspedes Jería, governor of Paraguay, used to enter into the jurisdiction from Brazil, Spanish: Mapa del río Ayembí y del Paraná, con sus afluentes, que recorrió Luis de Céspedes Jería, gobernador del Paraguay, al entrar en su jurisdicción desde Brasil) is a map produced by Dom Luis de Céspedes García Xería, a 17th-century Spanish military officer. The map is dated November 8, 1628. It depicts the path that Xeria traveled between the village of São Paulo de Piratininga, now the modern city of São Paulo, to Ciudad Real de Guayrá, Province of Paraguay. Ciudad Real de Guayrá was a Spanish-held city in the present-day Brazilian state of Paraná. Xeria travelled using the Tietê and Paraná rivers from July 16 to September 18, 1628. The dimensions of the Map of Céspedes Xeria are 118 centimetres (46 in) x 79 centimetres (31 in). The Map of Céspedes Xeria is the first known of the interior of the state of São Paulo and the first to establish a cartographic representation the wider Southeast region of Brazil.[1] It provides the earliest representations of the Tietê and Paraná rivers.[2]
The Museu do Ipiranga (commonly known as the Paulista Museum) acquired a facsimile copy of the map in 1917. The Map of Céspedes Xeria established a historical narrative of the São Paulo region in the 20th century; it additionally aided in the interpretation of the development of the territory of what would be the state of São Paulo. Images of the map have subsequently appeared in a large range of textbooks, book covers, magazine covers, and other publications related to the history of São Paulo.[2]
Little is known about Luis de Céspedes García Xería. He lived in the 17th century, and arrived in present-day Brazil to administer the Spanish colony of Paraguay. He sent an account to Philip of Spain on the arrival of 43 Dutch ships in Bahia and Espírito Santo on July 30, 1627, along with a description of damage caused by the attempted invasion. The event occurred after two conflicts between the Dutch and Spanish-Portuguese forces: the Capture of Bahia in 1624 and Recapture of Bahia in 1625. The Map of Céspedes Xeria is dated 1628, shortly before the establishingment of Dutch Brazil.[3]
Description
The Map of Céspedes Xeria was produced to accompany a letter from Céspedes Xería to King Philip IV of Spain (also styled as King Philip III of Portugal). It was likely a report of the route of Tietê (denominated the Río Ayembí on the map) and Paraná rivers to facilitate the formation of foreign policy of Philip IV. Xeria's route is represented by a red line on the map. It is accompanied by illustrations of cities, towns, and indigenous villages. Nature is poorly represented in the map, other than river banks and some islands. The map lacks reliable coordinates, a compass rose, an indication of north orientation, projections, scale, or geometric precision.[4][2]
The Tietê River is represented in the upper left quadrants of the map, together with Vila de São Paulo. The Paraná River appears in the lower left quadrants of the documents; the settlements are in the lower right quadrants. The legend is in three columns and the crosses along the route to represent landing sites.[4]
Versions
There are two versions of the map: the first is called Map 17 of Céspedes Xeria (Portuguese: Mapa 17 de Céspedes Xeria) and a second is titles Mapa 17bis de Céspedes Xeria. Both are from the General Archive of the Indies in Seville, Spain. Although Céspedes Xeria was a military officer, studies show that he both collected the data and made the drawing. His intention was to send the map directly to Philip of Spain with his letter written in his own hand. Xeria, however, used copyists to produce reproductions of the document; this explains the difference of handwriting between the two versions.[4][2]