La Nuova Francia 1556
This spectacular woodcut map, La Nuova Francia, by Giacomo Gastaldi, is one of the earliest known published maps of the region of eastern Canada and northeastern America to which France once staked claim. It is the first known map to use the term New France to describe French claims in North America, and depicts the North Atlantic coastline from New York to Labrador.
Published in 1556, the map is based on reports following the 1524 exploratory voyage by Giovanni de Verrazzano, and on the findings of Jacque Cartier's 1534 voyage to the New World. This map was preceded by Gastaldi’s Tierra Nueva [New England] map of 1548, the first known attempt to depict the northeastern coast of North America. La Nuova Francia adds some interior geography to the 1548 Tierra Nueva and depicts the coast in more elaborate detail.
Commissioned by King Francis I of France to explore the eastern coast of North America and to seek a passage to Asia, Verrazzano first made landfall near Cape Fear, North Carolina, then charted the coast northward, to include New York Harbor and Rhode Island. After exploring New York Harbor, including what is now Manhattan Island, he then anchored at present-day Newport, Rhode Island for two weeks where they took on fresh food and water. From Rhode Island he continued north past Cape Cod to the coasts of Maine and Cape Breton. It is commonly held that Cartier was a member of the crew for this voyage of Verrazzano and thus had gained significant experience and knowledge of the region when he set out on his own for King Francis in 1534.
Features of the Map
Early concepts of New England were based on reports by its explorers, and before there was New England, there was Norumbega. In the mid-to-late 16th century, the sobriquet Norumbega represented the promise of civilization and plenitude in the New World based on inaccurate descriptions by early explorers.
The term first began appearing on printed maps in the 1540s and was generally used to define the region around Penobscot Bay in south central Maine, though often reaching anywhere from New York to New Brunswick. Gastaldi used it in his map Tierra Nueva dated 1548. On the map, Tierra de Nurumberg is a zone encapsulating Verrazzano’s discoveries. In this map labled La Nuova Francia (New France), Terra de Nurumbega dominates the southern coast of La Nuova Francia, a large island spanning from New York to Cape Breton. The term Norumbega gradually fell out of favour as colonies were established. John Smith's 1616 map of the region, which would soon be known as New England, played a significant role in the shift of terminology.
The delineation of the New York area and lower New England was based on a letter written by Verrazano describing his voyage of 1524 rather than on another map. The somewhat primitive quality of the map is often attributed to this factor. Appended to the Verrazzano based portion of the map is cartography of eastern Canada as represented in maps drawn by Jacques Cartier during and after his exploration of the Gulf of Saint Lawrence and the shores of the Saint Lawrence River. The shallows of the Grand Banks are represented by a long sinuous speckled band which runs close to the coastline. A cross with a fleur-de-lis symbolizing Cartier’s claiming of the region for France is seen planted on an island on the inland side of the band.
The bottom right corner features a vignette of Verrazzano’s flagship, La Dauphine. Another French frigate is featured in the lower left. Many smaller vessels are depicted, including those of indigenous peoples. A whale is seen spouting, and fish dot the waters with ships, canoes, and fishermen moving across waters teeming with fish. Locals are seen gathering in structures with thatched roofs having no walls.
Possessing vague knowledge of the interior, Gastaldi left it blank but did label three regions including Tramontana, Parte Incognito, and Terra De Labrodar. The coastline and islands feature charming vignettes of indigenous Indians in traditional attire replete with weaponry, all busily engaged in everyday life and customs, in hunting and bringing back their prey. A canoe turned upside down is used as a place of rest for a local. Flora and fauna of the region are denoted. Waterways are shown in several places, all emptying into the bay. Many figures, both European and indigenous can be seen in the area around Narragansett Bay, where the Verrazzano party spent their longest period of time ashore, allowing them to learn more about the area.
According to early reports there was somewhere in the vicinity, in the Strait of Belle Isle dividing Newfoundland from Labrador, an island perpetually shrouded in mist. Although its terrain was lush and its wilderness abundant with wildlife, no one lived there because any human being who set foot on its shores would have been harassed day and night by evil spirits who jabbered unintelligibly and conjured terrifying illusions.
Gastaldi chose to perpetuate this long-enduring myth which had been reported by earlier voyages to the area, and which was featured in an earlier map drawn by German monk Johannes Ruysch in 1508. Known as the Isle of Demons, it was one of the fabled phantom islands of the Atlantic - land masses which appeared on early European maps during the Age of Exploration - only to be expunged when they couldn't be found again. Gastaldi’s image depicts three demons on the island, two walking and one flying above them. The same thatched roof structure shelters a small group of locals while another person hunts birds with bow and arrow.
Significance of the Map
Cartographic maps have played a crucial role in history, serving as tools for navigation, exploration, trade, and the understanding and representation of the world, reflecting human ingenuity, exploration, and technological advancement. From cave paintings to parchment to early paper maps, maps have allowed humans to navigate and understand their surroundings. Despite the obvious errors and omissions in early maps, they were essential to both explorers and their financiers throughout the three centuries denoted as the Age of Exploration.
When mapping new lands, cartographers were faced with drawing maps based on verbal or written reports furnished by explorers. Where little or no information was available regarding unexplored territories, those areas were often left blank, or decorated with vignettes pictorially depicting theories based on scant knowledge regarding flora and fauna, the lay of the land, the dress and customs of indigenous peoples, etc.
Works such as this map contributed to the easing of conditions for subsequent voyages, for exploration, mapping, and settlement of the regions described by them. As one of the early attempts to scientifically describe a significant portion of the eastern coast of North America, Gastaldi’s work La Nuova Francia is an important cartographic artifact from the Age of Exploration.