1630 Nova Virginiae Tabula

By: Henricus Hondius   Date: 1630 (circa) Amsterdam   Dimensions: 15 x 19.5 inches (38 cm x 49.5 cm)   This map of the Chesapeake Bay region is one of the most important of its day, and is credited with disseminating knowledge of the English settlement in Virginia throughout Europe in the 17th century. The map is a derivative of Captain Joh Smith’s seminal map of 1612, which was the first to depict the Bay and its tributaries and other waterways with any accuracy.  It is highly detailed with geophysical features. The names of countless indigenous peoples are featured throughout the entire region, most of them on the banks of rivers, which would have been essential to settling in any region. Henricus Hondius based his important map of the Chesapeake Bay region on the map of Jodocus Hondius, Jr., whose plates had been sold to Blaeu, necessitating the re-engraving by Henricus in about 1630. Most of the maps of this area were published by Blaeu and included French text on the verso descr