Patagonian Cinnamon and Pepper: Blending Geography in Alonso de Ovalle’s Tabula geographica regni Chile (1646)

Author:

Burdick, Catherine E.

Format:

Journal Article

Year:

2014

Journal Title:

Imago Mundi

Volume:

66

Issue:

2

Language:

English

Abstract:

The context and conditions under which early modern Europeans created images and maps that blended Asian and American geographies have recently received the attention of scholars. In this article I explore an example of this practice in the Chilean Jesuit Alonso de Ovalle’s mapping of Asian spices as it affected the southern region of his Tabula geographica regni Chile (Rome, 1646). I examine Ovalle’s inclusion of cinnamon and pepper in the Patagonian landscape as a persuasive allusion to the crucial role of the Strait of Magellan in his proposed revision of the trade route of the Spanish galleons.

Who (Jesuits):

Ovalle, Alonso de, 1601–1651

What (Subjects):

Missions -- Geography -- Cartography

Missions -- Historiography

Missions -- Economy -- Trade

Missions -- Writings

Where (Locations):

South America -- Chile

Europe -- Spain

When (Centuries):

17th century

Publisher URL:

http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/03085694.2014.902581?journalCode=rimu20

Page Range:

196–212

ISSN:

0308-5694

1479-7801

DOI:

10.1080/03085694.2014.902581