1613 Insulae Indiae Orientalis Praecipuae, in Quibus Moluccae Celeberrimae sunt

By: Mercator / Hondius Date: 1613 (published) Amsterdam Dimensions: 13.5 x 19 inches (34.5 x 48.25 cm) This remarkable map of Southeast Asia and the East Indies was created by Jodocus Hondius for an edition of a Mercator atlas. The map is a visual representation of the knowledge of Eastern Asia which had been accumulated by western geographers from the earliest days of the age of exploration through the first decade of the 17th century, with information for it taken from myriad sources. Its focal point is the Spice Islands, reflecting Dutch interests in the spice trade in the Moluccas Islands, which had become a source of lucrative commerce. Little was known of the region in the West, and this map provides the most detailed rendering of the East Indies of its day, and one of the only regional maps to mention Francis Drake’s having been there. The map extends from China, Java and Sumatra in the west to the Marianas Islands and New Guinea in the east. Details include towns, ports and set