This shift occurred in large part because of the exodus of many of the best engravers and cartographers out of the Southern Provinces. By this time Amsterdam had surpassed Antwerp as the largest publisher of cartographic materials in the world. The second period of prosperity in Dutch cartography was underway in the Northern Provinces by the 1630’s, when the maps from our project were printed. With the Theatrum and other important works the Low Countries soon surpassed Italy in map production and the Golden Age of Dutch mapmaking had commenced. In 1570 Abraham Ortelius’s atlas, Theatrum Orbis Terrarum, first published by Gilles Coppens de Diest and later by Plantin, quickly became a commercial success throughout Europe. The largest publisher at this time was Christopher Plantin whose publishing firm in Antwerp came to monopolize the map business. During Mercator’s lifetime map publishing grew from being of lesser importance, concerning only academics and printers, to becoming a profitable business and essential economic enterprise (Koeman, p.1299). It was here where Mercator established his business, the first commercial map production in the Low Countries. ![]() Studying at Leuven, the famous Flemish mapmaker Gerhard Mercator was greatly influenced by Gemma Frisius, the first to publish on the use of triangulation for accurate surveying (Koeman et al., p.1297). Located about 30 miles south, the university was one of Europe’s great centers of learning and had a far-reaching impact on the development of cartography across Europe. The first wave of prosperity for Dutch cartography in Antwerp was greatly influenced by the nearby University of Leuven. The second, situated in the Northern Provinces, continued through the end of the 17th century and saw Amsterdam supplant Antwerp. The first period, centered in the South Provinces around Antwerp, lasted into the 16th century and accompanied the city’s economic growth and cultural boom. There were two distinct periods where Dutch commercial cartography and publishing flourished. ![]() The battles waged on the political and religious stages of the 17th century had a direct impact on the publishing world of Amsterdam.
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