A legend on the map reads, in Spanish, “Juan de la Cosa made this in the port of Santa Maria in the year 1500,” Puerto de Santa Maria being a small port in the province of Cádiz, Andalusia. It would be highly unlikely that a map of this kind was reproduced en masse; at a time when the so-called “New World” was being hotly contested over, the knowledge it held could wield huge political power.
His map shows the Americas as the edge of a large landmass, leading to a mysterious domain beyond, the extent of which the map doesn’t even attempt to depict.
As so little was known to Europeans about this uncharted territory, the map of the Americas is largely devoid of complex features, aside from a few lines hinting at rivers or territories. The land, however, is overwhelmingly green, offering a glimpse of the impression the first European explorers might have had upon arriving.
