Lantor is a kind of coconut palm (or Indian nut) with fronds as long as a human body. These fronds are used as paper. Pimenta del Rabo (or cubebe) grows grape-like on trees and is held in such esteem by the Indians that they cook and preserve them, rather than sell them to other countries. Also shown is the Tamarind tree or Assa, the plant Talasse grows in Java, and the Mangostan fruit and the black pepper is called ‘Sahang’ in Java.Theodore de Bry, a German engraver and book dealer, began a...

Two engravings. [486] After Atahualpa was killed, Pizarro set out with his troops to find the city of Cuzco, which he had heard was rich in gold. The journey from Cajamarca to Cuzco by road was nearly a thousand miles and took three months. Although there was considerable resistance to the Spanish during this long march, the final descent into the great city, in November 1533, was in fact, not as portrayed but a relatively peaceful affair. [485] While Atahualpa was still held captive rumors spre...

Two engravings. [421b] When the natives of those parts, they were bathed in a cold stream, then chased round a blazing fire until they had dried out. Then they were put to bed and great care was taken to ensure their loins were dry. Vomiting was overcome by fasting for three or four days and paying careful attention to diet., which rarely included meat, except for human flesh, of which they were inordinately fond. In fact they would even fatten their enemy captives before eating them and seemed ...

Two engravings. [514] On 29th May, 1615, Spilbergen’s fleet anchored further north, off an island called Santa María that was separated by a narrow stretch of water (A), from Punta Lavapié on the mainland. Four of the ships (I) anchored in the bay, while the fifth (H) anchored closer. The Dutch went ashore in small boats (F), where they saw Spanish soldiers on horseback (B), so they arranged themselves for battle (C). There were several confrontations (E), during which many Dutchmen died but...

A brutal scene depicting native Indians tying down Spanish men and pouring liquid gold down their throats. Scenes of cannibalism in the background.In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inherited the Theodor De Bry’s publishing firm, among the illustrated accounts of the expeditions of Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci, Cortes, Balboa, Raleigh, Drake, Smith, and many others.Gottfried issued together with Matthaeus Merian a one-volume condensation "Newe Welt Vnd Americanische Historien/ Jnhaltende Warhaff...

Two engravings. [492] Even before Pizarro’s death, a new royal governor, Vaca de Castro, was on his way to settle the turmoil in Peru. He refused to accept Almagro the younger, when he heard he had appointed himself the new governor and summoned his troops for battle. They were later joined by Alonso de Alvarado and by other Pizarrists. This culminated in a bloody battle at Chupas in 1542, near the city of Ayacucho. Many men on both sides died, before Almagro the younger, fled to Cuzco. He was...

Scarce print with a German text sheet showing the French torching and looting Chiorera. From de Bry's "Great American Voyages". Johann Theodor de Bry (1561-1623) was born in Liège in 1561, the eldest son of the engraver and publisher Theodor de Bry. It was from his father that Johann learned his craft, producing both engravings and etchings. In 1588, the Lutheran De Bry family settled in Frankfurt am Main, a safe haven for Lutherans at this time of religious discord. Together with his father an...

Scarce print with a German text sheet showing Cavendish’s fleet anchor at a place called Morro Moreno, on the coast of Chile. The Indians came down from the high cliffs to greet the voyagers and brought with them firewood and fresh water as a sign of friendship. Later the English were taken to their homes, which were made from two sticks in the ground, with others laid across and covered with straw. The whole family, including children, lay underneath on animal skins. They were skilled fisherm...

A graphic scene of fighting and extreme violence. One man is seen covered in feathers, before being sacrificed and killed before the Brazilian tribe of Tupinamba. In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inherited the Theodor De Bry’s publishing firm, among the illustrated accounts of the expeditions of Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci, Cortes, Balboa, Raleigh, Drake, Smith, and many others.Gottfried issued together with Matthaeus Merian a one-volume condensation "Newe Welt Vnd Americanische Historien/ Jn...

When the Spanish discovered the silver mines of Potosí, they organised the transport of the rich ore westward by llama trains across the Altiplano and down to Arica on the coast, where it would be transported by ship to Panama. These strange creatures would sit down when angered or overburdened and, neither beatings nor kind words would make the animals get up again. If any of them ran away, they had to be shot to recover their valuable cargo.In 1631, Johann Ludwig Gottfried inherited Theodor D...

Two engravings. [470] The funeral of an Inca king was a ceremony of great splendor. After digging a large pit, the Indians would decorate the corpse with gold and silver then bury it with many fine ornaments, along with good food and wine to help it on its way into the next world. Benzoni so described the burial of Huayna-Capac, whose grave he said was on the border of the province of Quito. When the Spanish first went to Peru, they discovered and pillaged many such graves.[469] Much of Ecuador ...

A fine map of Tierra del Fuego. With an explanatory text of the passage by Barent Jansz. Potgieter who accompanied captain Sebald de Weert to the Straits in 1599/1600, being the first Dutch vessels to sail through the Strait of Magellan, in Latin and Dutch.After various English voyages, the Dutch appeared in the Strait of Magellan in 1599. One of the Dutch pioneering voyages to the Southwest was the one by Jacques Mahu and Simon de Cordes, who were sent out by Rotterdam merchants. The five ships...

Almagro returned to Cuzco, disillusioned and embittered from his long and fruitless journey south into Chile, where he had been searching for further wealth. This led to a split in the control of Peru between the Pizarrists, who held the coastal regions, and the Almagrists who held the Cordillera. Further quarreling culminated in a battle just outside Cuzco in 1538, known as Las Salinas, which the Pizarrists eventually won. Almagro was subsequently garrotted and his captain, Orgóñez, beheaded....

When the Spanish arrived in Cajamarca, they found only a few inhabitants. The Inca army was camped in the surrounding hills and the residence of the Inca king, Atahualpa, was a few miles away, so de Soto went ahead to meet him and to announce the arrival in the town of Pizarro and his troops. As de Soto approached, he pulled his stallion to a halt in front of Atahualpa and the foam from the horse’s mouth was said to have flown into the face of the Inca king. Many of the nobles, who had never s...

In 1624 a heavily armed Dutch fleet sailed from the Juan Fernandez Islands to Lima. The leader of the fleet, Jacob l’Hermite, was in such poor health that he had to hand over command to Admiral Jacobson. The fleet anchored outside the harbour near the island of San Lorenzo (‘I. de Lima’). The port was full of Spanish ships and was too well protected for a direct confrontation so, on the night of 11th May, the Dutch carried out a daring and devious plan. In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inh...

A brutal scene depicting native Indians tying down Spanish men and pouring liquid gold down their throats. Scenes of cannibalism in the background.In 1631 Johann Ludwig Gottfried, inherited the Theodor De Bry’s publishing firm, among the illustrated accounts of the expeditions of Magellan, Columbus, Vespucci, Cortes, Balboa, Raleigh, Drake, Smith, and many others.Gottfried issued together with Matthaeus Merian a one-volume condensation "Newe Welt Vnd Americanische Historien/ Jnhaltende Warhaff...

Two engravings. [514] On 29th May, 1615, Spilbergen’s fleet anchored further north, off an island called Santa María that was separated by a narrow stretch of water (A), from Punta Lavapié on the mainland. Four of the ships (I) anchored in the bay, while the fifth (H) anchored closer. The Dutch went ashore in small boats (F), where they saw Spanish soldiers on horseback (B), so they arranged themselves for battle (C). There were several confrontations (E), during which many Dutchmen died but...

Two engravings. [421b] When the natives of those parts, they were bathed in a cold stream, then chased round a blazing fire until they had dried out. Then they were put to bed and great care was taken to ensure their loins were dry. Vomiting was overcome by fasting for three or four days and paying careful attention to diet., which rarely included meat, except for human flesh, of which they were inordinately fond. In fact they would even fatten their enemy captives before eating them and seemed ...

Two engravings. [470] The funeral of an Inca king was a ceremony of great splendor. After digging a large pit, the Indians would decorate the corpse with gold and silver then bury it with many fine ornaments, along with good food and wine to help it on its way into the next world. Benzoni so described the burial of Huayna-Capac, whose grave he said was on the border of the province of Quito. When the Spanish first went to Peru, they discovered and pillaged many such graves.[469] Much of Ecuador ...

Willem Blaeu's very decorative map of Chili with two large and beautiful cartouches, a compass and ships. From early on Willem Jansz. Blaeu aimed of publishing an atlas to compete with the Hondius-Janssonius Atlas. By 1630, he had published at least 17 folio size maps. Blaeu was able to realize his plan soon after he had acquired the copper plates of the atlas maps by Jodocus Hondius. The "Appendix followed in 1630.In 1635 he finally realized a "international edition" of a world atlas, the "The...