Fakes and other business in the 17th century
This is a fake:
One of the earliest European attempts to publish a view of a North American city from a birds eye perspective is this image titled New Amsterdam. Issued in 1672 by French publisher Gerard Jollain, it was deliberately mislabeled.
Eight years earlier, the British had captured the Dutch colony of New Amsterdam and renamed it New York. Not only is the map outdated, it is also completely fictitious!
In fact the street pattern, the buildings, and the hilly topography are those of late 16th-century Lisbon, Portugal. These elements were copied from a popular image of Lisbon that was originally published in Braun and Hobenbergs Civitates Orbis Terrarum (Cologne, 1572-1617).
A Dutch cartographer published a ground-level view of New Amsterdam several years before Jollain issued his view, but it is not likely that a French audience would have been familiar with the more accurate Dutch portrayal.
As if to attest to the views geographical accuracy, Jollain added an inset showing the relative location of New Amsterdam within the New Holland colony. He also added place names showing the adjacent British colony of Massachusetts and neighboring Indian groups. The text, in both Latin and French at the bottom of the view, describes New Amsterdam as a Dutch colony.
This is the original:
Jollain’s representation of New Amsterdam was based on this image of Lisbon, originally published about 1598 in part five of Braun and Hogenberg’s comprehensive collection of urban views, Civitates Orbis Terrarum. So popular was this view that it was repeatedly republished in other atlases during the 17th century. This view portrays Lisbon at the height of its prosperity during the European Age of Discovery and Exploration. Clearly evident are the medieval street pattern shaped by a hilly terrain, the castle and cathedral dominating the city’s skyline, and a busy port filled with ocean-going vessels.
Referent: Norman B. Leventhal Map Center Collection
