"Amerique Meridionale Divisee en ses Principales Parties ou sont Distingues les uns des Autres les Estats Suivant Quils Appartiennent Presentement aux Francois, Castillans, Portugais, Hollandois, &c...", Sanson/Jaillot

This handsome and large map of the continent is decorated with elaborate title and scale of miles cartouches balancing the lower portion of the map. The continent is divided into the French, Spanish, Portuguese and Dutch possessions. The fourteen coastal Capitaineries created by the Portuguese are outlined in Brazil. The course of the Amazon is delineated in a fairly accurate manner, yet it shows the river's source in a fascinating, interlacing maze of waterways. The Rio Paraguay erroneously begins at a lake named Xarayes in the middle of the continent. The title cartouche features two natives and the heads of two tropical birds.

References: Shirley (BL Atlases) T.JAI-1C #9.

Condition: B

Contemporary outline color with later color in the decorative elements. There is some toning, offsetting, and an extraneous crease adjacent to the centerfold. Two short edge tears at bottom have been closed on verso with archival materials.