This blending of art and science reflects a broader cultural phenomenon: the Enlightenment ideal that beauty and reason could coexist in service of the state. In Solis’s map, aesthetics were not incidental; they were integral to the map’s persuasive power. The lavish detailing of coastlines and decorative flourishes around the compass rose served to elevate the map from a utilitarian object to a work of propaganda—an image of imperial mastery rendered on paper.
Sources and Methodology
John de Solis’s work would have drawn upon a range of sources. As was customary for cartographers of the time, he likely compiled his map from earlier Spanish and French surveys, as well as navigational charts produced by pilots and explorers.
The Spanish maintained a network of cartographic correspondence, through which maps and data were exchanged between colonial offices and the royal archives. Solis, operating within this system, would have had access to reports from coastal expeditions and missionary records. Astronomical observations—made using instruments such as the quadrant or sextant—enabled greater precision in determining latitude, though longitude remained problematic prior to the widespread adoption of marine chronometers. shutdown123