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Including An Early Map of America From Spanish Sources

A very detailed early history of the Spanish conquest of South America, focusing on Peru. The author, Jean Bellere, was born near Bruges, travelled extensively, and died in the Canary Islands. This work first appeared with an imprint date of 1566; the present example is of the second issue of the first edition, with the imprint date of 1567.

Divided into five books or sections, the author offers a comprehensive account of the early expeditions of Pizarro and Almagro in the interior regions of Peru, chronicling the significant battles between Pizarro and the Inca Atahualpa, the protracted siege of Cuzco, and the arrival of Alvarado, highlighting his consequential meeting with Almagro and the ensuing conflicts with Pizarro. In the final book, the author provides a detailed narrative of Gasca's mission to restore peace in the region, the executions he oversaw, and the eventual death of Pizarro.

The book includes a nice example of Jean Bellere's rare map of America, first published in 1554. This map first appeared in López de Gómara's La Historia General de las Indias and was later included in Levinus Apollonius's De Peruviae Regionis . . . . This rare early map of the Americas is notable for its extensive coastal place names.

The map... is usually lacking. It depicts the whole of Central and South America, with the Eastern coast of North America and part of the Pacific Coast of Mexico, including Mexico City. The book is printed throughout in italic letterpress" - Hill. 

Bellere's map is drawn from Diogo Ribiero's monumental Carta Universal . . . world map of 1529, drawn for King Carlos V of Spain.  Ribiero would later become the Piloto Major (replacing Sebastian Cabot), Royal Cosmographer and the maker of the maps which Ferdinand Magellan took with him on his voyage across the Pacific Ocean.  At the time of its creation, Ribiero had access to the full archive of Spanish knowledge of the Americas, including the Real Patron.  

The map includes important information from the expeditions of Lucas Vasqueze de Ayllon, Estêvão Gomes and João Álvares Fagundes, each of which was reported in Ribiero's map of 1529. Among early maps of the whole of America, only Giovanni Ramusio's La carta universale della terra firma . . .  of 1534 and Pedro de Medina's Nuevo Mundo of 1545 pre-date Bellere's map.  The earlier pair include very few place names, while Bellere's map includes dozens of names.

Unmistakably Spanish

The Spanish coat of arms with double-headed eagle, the Pillars of Hercules and the motto Plus Ultra are printed in the lower left corner of the map, unmistakably asserting a Spanish origin. The Pillars of Hercules refer to the two promontories on either side of the entrance to the Strait of Gibraltar: the Rock of Gibraltar on the European side and Mount Hacho (or Jebel Musa) on the African side. These were considered the limits of the known world in ancient times. The motto "Plus Ultra" translates to "Further Beyond" in Latin. This phrase became emblematic of the age of exploration during which Spain played a pivotal role. It encouraged explorers to disregard the ancient warning "Non plus ultra" (No further beyond), which cautioned sailors and navigators about the dangers of venturing past the Pillars of Hercules into the unknown.

During the 16th century, under the reign of Charles V, Holy Roman Emperor and King of Spain, "Plus Ultra" was adopted as a national motto and reflected the ambitious spirit of the Spanish Empire, which was actively exploring and establishing territories beyond Europe, particularly in the Americas. The motto and the image of the Pillars, as incorporated into the Spanish coat of arms, symbolized Spain's role as a global maritime power with a self-styled divine mandate to expand its territories and influence.

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón

Lucas Vázquez de Ayllón was a Spanish magistrate and explorer who in 1526 established the short-lived San Miguel de Gualdape colony, one of the first European attempts at a settlement in what is now the southeastern United States. Ayllón's account of the region inspired a number of later attempts by the Spanish and French governments to colonize the region now comprising the southeastern United States.

Ayllón signed a contract with the crown on June 12, 1523 allowing him to establish a settlement on the eastern seaboard.  The agreement required Ayllón was required to perform a more detailed exploration of the region, establish missions, churches, and a Franciscan monastery to further conversion of the native population, and he was restrained from implementing an encomienda or other means of forcing Indian labor.   

After an absence of three years, Ayllón returned to Santo Domingo around December, 1524 and, per his contract, began organizing an expedition to further explore the southeastern shore of North America. He hired Pedrod de Quejo to lead a voyage consisting of two caravels and about sixty crewmen. They set sail in early April, 1525 with instructions to explore  640 nautical miles of coastline. They made their first landfall on May 3, 1525, likely at the Savannah River. From there they continued north until reaching Winyah Bay, the site of their original landing in 1521. It is not clear how much further north Quejo traveled, perhaps as far as Chesapeake Bay, but he observed that the coast beyond Winyah Bay was mostly sand dunes and pine scrub. The expedition returned home in July, 1525. 

Following Quejo's return, Allyon organized a fleet consisting of six vessels carrying about 600-700 passengers and crew. Some women, children and African slaves were included among the settlers. The fleet departed in mid-July, 1526. The large colonizing group landed in Winyah Bay on August 9, 1526 and encountered their first significant setback when their largest ship struck a sandbar and sank. There was no loss of life but a large portion of their supplies was lost. Ayllón ordered a replacement vessel to be built, probably the earliest example of European-style boat building in what is now the United States.

After considering settlement at nearby Pawleys Island and scouting the region, Ayllón decided to move about 200 miles south to a "powerful river", probably the Sapelo Sound in present-day Georgia. Early in September, the healthy men rode to the new site on horseback while the rest traveled by ship. When they reached Sapelo Sound they began immediately to construct houses and a church. The short-lived colony of San Miguel de Gualdape was established on September 29, 1526. It was the first European settlement in the present-day United States. Ayllón's settlement survived less than three month. When Ayllón died on October 18, 1526, the effort collapsed. The surviving colonists broke into warring factions and by mid-November decided to give up and sail home. Of the 600-700 people whom Ayllón had brought with him, only 150 survivors made their way back to Hispaniola that winter.

Despite repeated attempts, archaeologists have been unable to locate the site of the town or the shipwreck in Winyah Bay.

Estêvão Gomes

Estêvão Gomes was a Portuguese cartographer and explorer, who is best known for having captained a ship in the fleet of Ferdinand Magellan, and then deserted the expedition when they had reached the Strait of Magellan, returning to Spain in May 1521. In 1524 he explored present-day Nova Scotia.  Some historians believe Gomes may have entered New York Harbor and seen the Hudson River. Because of his expedition, the 1529 Diogo Ribeiro world map outlines the East coast of North America almost perfectly.

The expedition sailed on September 24, 1524 from A Coruña. Gomes arrived in Cuba, before sailing north. Since there is no written account of the voyage, and only a map, there is conse iderable disagreement about Gomes' itinerary. Gomes may have gotten as far east as the Cabot Strait and Cape Breton (in today's Canadian province of Nova Scotia). He also entered Upper New York Bay and the Hudson River (which he named the "San Antonio River"). However, whether he traveled north to south or searched from south to north, is disputed. In either direction, he passed through Maine, where he thought the estuary of the Penobscot River to be the Northwest Passage.  

João Álvares Fagundes

João Álvares Fagundes was an explorer and ship owner from Viana do Castelo in Northern Portugal, who organized several expeditions to Newfoundland and Nova Scotia around 1520–1521. Fagundes, and accompanied by colonists (mostly from the Azores and some of mainland Portugal), explored the islands of St Paul near Cape Breton, Sable Island, Penguin Island (now known as Funk Island), Burgeo, and Saint Pierre and Miquelon which he named the islands of Eleven Thousand Virgins in honor of Saint Ursula (Isla de las Virgenes on Ziletti's map).  King Manuel I of Portugal gave Fagundes exclusive rights and ownership of his discoveries on 13 March 1521. In 1607, Samuel de Champlain identified the remains of a large cross at what is now Advocate, Nova Scotia, which some historians have attributed the erection of the cross to Fagundes, who is presumed to have visited the spot some eight decades earlier.

Rarity

The 1567 edition of this work is quite rare on the market. Only two examples in RBH in the last 55 years.