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Lowlands sixteenth century cartography: Mercator’s birth pentecentennial
Charlier, R.H.; Charlier, C.C.P. (2016). Lowlands sixteenth century cartography: Mercator’s birth pentecentennial. J. Coast. Res. 32(3): 670-685. https://dx.doi.org/10.2112/JCOASTRES-D-13A-00006.1
In: Journal of Coastal Research. Coastal Education and Research Foundation: Fort Lauderdale. ISSN 0749-0208; e-ISSN 1551-5036
Peer reviewed article  

Available in  Authors 
    Vlaams Instituut voor de Zee: Open access 314118 [ download pdf ]

Author keywords
    XVII Provinces; Rupelmonde; UNESCO; Zwin; Dutch cartography

Authors  Top 
  • Charlier, R.H.
  • Charlier, C.C.P.

Abstract
    The 500th anniversary of Mercator's birth ought to be celebrated as a milestone in the history of cartography and navigation. Not because he is one of the mapmakers of the 16th century, but because he contributed perhaps most significantly to the progress of navigation. Although he was born in a small Flandrian town, his name remains associated with Antwerp. His studies at the famed university of Louvain (Leuven-Lovanium) were financed by a clerical relative, and his work was buttressed by that of Ortelius, his associate. The Mercator projection proved to be a priceless gift to ship captains. Earlier in the same century a painter of renown, Peter Pourbus, in the service of the Sire of Moerbeke and of Holy Roman Emperor Charles V, engaged in mapmaking using an approach worthy of modern cartographers. In the northern Lowlands, mapmaking had already made great steps forward in earlier times.

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