America in the Cartography of the 16th Century (1500-1556) (I)

Abstract

Scientific advances of the last years of the fifteenth century had very positive consequences for the progress of geographical discoveries sponsored by European monarchies. In a few years European attention was changed from the Mediterranean to the Atlantic and, due to the Spanish geopolitical interests, from the Occeanus Occidentalis to the Pacific. At this same time, cartography, which evolved from being an “academic” work to a “state” profession, is understood at the same time as an instrument of power and an example of the changes in the perception of the universe.