Dieppe maps
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[[Image:Australia first map.jpg|thumb|350px|Jave La Grande's east coast: from Nicholas Vallard's atlas, 1547. This is part of an 1856 copy of one of the Dieppe Maps. Copy held by the [http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm2393 National Library of Australia].]]
The '''Dieppe maps''' are a series of world maps produced in [[Dieppe, Seine-Maritime|Dieppe]], [[France]], in the 1540s, 1550s and 1560s. They are large hand-produced maps, commissioned for wealthy and royal patrons, including [[Henry II of France]] and [[Henry VIII of England]]. The Dieppe school of [[cartography|cartographers]] included [[Pierre Desceliers]], [[Johne Rotz]], [[Guillaume Le Testu]] and [[Nicholas Desliens]].
Because many of the inscriptions on the Dieppe maps are written in [[French language|French]], [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] or Gallicised Portuguese, modern historians generally accept that the Dieppe school of mapmakers were often working from [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] sources that no longer exist. There seems to be convincing evidence that [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] [[cartography|cartographers]] were bribed for information of the latest discoveries, despite the official [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] Politica de sigilo (policy of silence). An example of this is the [[Cantino planisphere|Cantino]] map of 1502 (not a Dieppe school map) which clearly shows evidence of second hand [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] sources. <ref> Richardson, W.A.R. (2006). ''Was Australia charted before 1606? The Jave La Grande inscriptions.'' Canberra, National Library of Australia, p.5, ISBN 0 64227642 0</ref>
A common feature of most of the Dieppe world maps (see Vallard 1547, Desceliers 1550) are the [[Compass rose|compass roses]] and navigational [[rhumb lines]], suggestive of a [[Nautical chart|sea-chart]]. However, they are best understood as works of art, clearly intended to be spread out on a table, and containing information on the latest discoveries, side by side with mythological references and illustrations. For example, the Desceliers 1550 map carries descriptions of early [[History of France|French]] attempts to [[History of Canada|colonise Canada]], the conquests of [[Peru]] by the [[History of Spain|Spanish]] and the [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] sea-trade among the [[Spice Islands]]. On the same map can be found descriptions of legendary [[Cathay]], king [[Prester John]] in [[Ethiopia]], and the race of [[Amazons]] in [[Russia]]. <ref>[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/mapsandviews/desworlmap.html Showcases :: Pierre Desceliers' World Map<!-- Bot generated title -->]</ref> Other Dieppe maps also carry fictitious features such as the [[Marco Polo]] inspired Zanzibar/Îles des Geanz. (see Vallard 1547, Rotz 1542 and Dauphin c1536-42). As with other maps made before the seventeenth century, the Dieppe maps show no knowledge of [[longitude]]. While [[latitude]] could be marked in degrees as observed by [[astrolabe]] or [[quadrant]], [[easting]] could only be given in distance. <ref> McIntyre, K.G. (1977). ''Secret Discovery of Australia: Portuguese Ventures 200 Years Before Captain Cook''. Medindie, South Australia: Souvenir Books Australia, P.147-8. ISBN 028562303 6 </ref> [[Gerardus Mercator|Mercator's]] projection first appeared in 1568-9, a development too late to influence the Dieppe [[cartography|cartographers]] .
==Existing Dieppe Maps==
The Dieppe Maps known to have existed into modern times include the following<ref>Richardson, W.A.R. (2006) P.96</ref> <ref>McIntyre, K.(1977) P.207.</ref> <ref> Herve, R. (1983). Translated by John Dunmore. ''Chance Discovery of Australia and New Zealand by Portuguese and Spanish Navigators between 1521 and 1528.'' Palmerston North, New Zealand. The Dunmore Press, P 19. ISBN 0 86469013 4. Herve provides a slightly different list of Dieppe Maps</ref>
*Johne Rotz, Boke of Idrography, 1542. [[British Library]], [[London]]
*Guillaume Brouscon, world chart, 1543, [[Huntington Library]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]
*Pierre Desceliers, “Royal” world chart, 1546. [[John Rylands Library]], [[University of Manchester]]
*Anonymous, “Harleian” or “Dauphin” world chart. c1547. [[British Library]], [[London]]
*Anonymous, made for Nicholas Vallard, portolan atlas, c1547. [[Huntington Library]], [[Los Angeles]], [[California]]
*Pierre Desceliers, world chart, 1550. [[British Library]], [[London]]
*Pierre Desceliers, world chart, 1553. [[Vienna]] (Destroyed)
*Guillaume Le Testu, Cosmographie Universelle, 1555. [[Bibliothèque du Service historique de l‘Armée de Terre]], [[Paris]]
*Anonymous, portolan atlas -attributed to Pierre Desceliers, world chart. c1555. [[Morgan Library]], [[New York]]
*Guillaume Le Testu, world chart, 1566. [[Bibliotheque Nationale de France]], [[Paris]]
*Nicholas Desliens, world chart, c1541-1561. [[Dresden]] (Destroyed)
*Nicholas Desliens, world chart, 1566. [[Bibliotheque Nationale de France]], [[Paris]]
*Nicholas Desliens, world chart, 1567. [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]
*Attributed to Nicholas Desliens, world chart, c1568. [[National Maritime Museum]], [[Greenwich]]
==The Dieppe Maps and the Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia==
{{Main|Theory of Portuguese discovery of Australia}}
The Dieppe maps are thought by some to provide clues towards the [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] exploration of [[Australia|Australia's]] coasts in the 1520s. Most of the Dieppe maps show a land mass entitled "Jave La Grande", between what is now [[Indonesia]] and [[Antarctica]]. As the [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] were active in [[Southeast Asia]] from 1511, and in [[Timor]] from 1516,<ref> McIntyre,K. (1977) P.52+</ref> it has been suggested by some writers that “Jave La Grande” is a result of an error by the Dieppe mapmakers who were working from [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] charts of Australia's coastline. Although the Dieppe maps are not specifically concerned with Australia, discussion about them in contemporary Australia is generally confined to this “Jave la Grande” feature.
The first writer to put these maps forward as evidence of [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] discovery of Australia was [[Alexander Dalrymple]] in 1786, in a short note to his ''Memoir Concerning the Chagos and Adjacent Islands''<ref> cited in McIntyre,K. (1977) P.327+ </ref>. [[Alexander Dalrymple|Dalrymple]] was intrigued enough to publish 200 copies of the Dauphin map.<ref> Richardson, W.A.R (2006) P.33 </ref>
Since then a number of other writers have contributed to the debate about the “Jave La Grande” landmass that appears on the Dieppe maps. These include;
*R.H.Major, in 1859, then Keeper of Maps in the [[British Museum]], who wrote ''Early Voyages to Terra Australis'', arguing “Java La Grande” was Australia’s west and east coastline. <ref>Major's book can be viewed at http://gutenberg.net.au/ebooks06/0600361h.html</ref>
*[[George Collingridge]] wrote ''The Discovery of Australia'' in 1895 <ref> Collingridge, G. (1895). ''The Discovery of Australia'' Reprinted facsimile edition (1983) Golden Press, NSW ISBN 0 85558956 6</ref> and reproduced a number of the “Jave La Grande” sections of several Dieppe maps for [[English language|English]] speaking audiences. He also argued “Jave La Grande” was substantially [[Australia|Australia’s]] coastline.
*In 1977, lawyer [[Kenneth McIntyre]] wrote ''The Secret Discovery of Australia. Portuguese ventures 200 years before Captain Cook''. This book achieved widespread publicity in Australia. It remains the best known of the books attempting to prove that Jave La Grande is Australia. [[Kenneth McIntyre|McIntyre]] attributed discrepancies in “Java la Grande” to the difficulties of accurately recording positions without a reliable method of determining [[longitude]], and the techniques used to convert maps to different [[map projections|projections]].
*Roger Herve, former Keeper of Maps at the [[Bibliotheque Nationale de France]], [[Paris]], argued that "Jave La Grande" showed evidence of [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] and [[History of Spain|Spanish]] discoveries of [[Australia]] and [[New Zealand]] between 1521 and 1528. ''Chance Discoveries of Australia and New Zealand by Portuguese and Spanish Navigators between 1521 and 1528'' was first published in [[English language|English]] in 1983. <ref> Herve, R. (1983)''Chance Discoveries of Australia and New Zealand by Portuguese and Spanish Navigators between 1521 and 1528'' Dunmore Press, Palmerston North, New Zealand. ISBN 0864690134 </ref>
*In 1982, [[Helen Wallis]], then Curator of Maps at the [[British Library]], suggested that the [[France|French]] 1529 voyage to [[Sumatra]] of [[Jean Parmentier]] and his brother may have collected information that found its way onto the Dieppe Maps. While admitting the evidence for this was circumstantial, she suggested that perhaps a Dieppe cartographer such as Jean Rotz may have accompanied the expedition. <ref> Wallis, H. "The Dieppe Maps" in ''The Globe: Journal of the Australian Map Curator's Circle'' Canberra, No. 17, 1982. p23-51.</ref>
*In 1984, Brigadier (ret’d) Lawrence Fitzgerald wrote ''Java La Grande'' (sic)<ref> Fitzgerald, L (1984). ''Java La Grande'' The Publishers, Hobart ISBN 0 94932500 7. It is unclear why he preferred the modern spelling Java rather than Jave. </ref>In this book he compared the coastlines of “Jave la Grande” as shown on the Dauphin (1536-42) and Desceliers (1550) maps with the modern Australian coastline, arguing the [[Dieppe, France|Dieppe]] mapmakers had incorrectly assembled [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] charts. He also suggested some of the illustrations on “Jave la Grande” may relate to Australia.
*In ''1421, The Year China Discovered the World'', published in 2002, English writer [[Gavin Menzies]] suggested the “Jave La Grande” landform of the [[Dieppe, France|Dieppe]] maps relates to discoveries of [[China|Chinese]] explorer [[Zheng He]] and his admirals. [[Gavin Menzies|Menzies]] suggested the [[Dieppe, France|Dieppe]] mapmakers worked from [[History of Portugal|Portuguese]] charts of [[Australia]], which were in turn copied from [[China|Chinese]] sources.
*In 2007, journalist Peter Trickett’s book ''[[Beyond Capricorn]]''<ref> Trickett, P (2007). ''Beyond Capricorn. How Portuguese adventurers discovered and mapped Australia and New Zealand 250 years before Captain Cook'' East St. Publications. Adelaide. ISBN 9 78097511459 9 </ref> was published. This stated that an assembly error had been made by [[cartography|cartographers]] working on the Vallard Atlas of 1547, and that if part of it (see 1856 copy above right) was rotated 90 degrees, it became an accurate map of the [[Australia|Australian]] coasts, and [[New Zealand|New Zealand's]] north island. He also suggested some of the illustrations and embellishments on “Jave La Grande” may relate to [[Australia]]. Some media publicity at the time of the book's release incorrectly suggested the Vallard map is not well known.<ref> See http://news.ninemsn.com.au/article.aspx?id=255927 for example</ref>
==Alternative interpretations of “Jave La Grande”==
*[[Ernest Scott]], first Professor of History at the [[University of Melbourne]], wrote on the significance of Dieppe Maps in several books between 1916 and 1929. He argued that while intriguing, the Dieppe maps alone could not be accepted as evidence the [[Portugal|Portuguese]] had a knowledge of [[Australia]] in the sixteenth century. <ref> Scott, E. (1928) ''A Short History of Australia''. p.5, 5th Edition, Oxford University Press. Also see Scott, E (1929) ''Australian Discovery by Sea'', at http://gutenberg.net.au/ausdisc/ausdisc0-contents.html</ref>
*In his exhaustive work on [[Luis Váez de Torres]], [[Queensland]] historian Captain Brett Hilder suggested “Jave La Grande” as depicted on the Dieppe maps was simply a mythical continent. <ref> Hilder, B. (1980) ''The Voyage of Torres'' p.11. University of Queensland Press, St. Lucia. ISBN 0 7022 1275x </ref>
*Associate Professor W.A.R. (Bill) Richardson was former reader in [[Portuguese language|Portuguese]] and [[Spanish language|Spanish]] at [[Flinders University]], [[South Australia]]. Between 1983 and 2004 Richardson wrote more than 20 articles on the “Jave La Grande” question for academic journals. In 2006 his book ''Was Australia charted before 1606? The Jave La Grande inscriptions '' was published. Richardson devotes much of this book to considering the "Jave La Grande" connection to [[Australia]] and in particular the information that [[toponymy]] (the study of placenames) can provide in identification. His conclusion is that “Jave La Grande” is unmistakably connected to the coasts of southern [[Java]] and [[Indochina]]. <ref> Richardson, W.A.R.(2006) P.93</ref> Richardson has also criticized [[Gavin Menzies]] assertion the Dieppe maps provide clues as to a possible [[China|Chinese]] discovery of [[Australia]].<ref> Richardson, W.A.R. "Gavin Menzies Cartographic fiction. The case of the Chinese 'discovery' of Australia" ''The Globe'', Number 56, 2004. See http://www.1421exposed.com/html/imaginography.html </ref>
*James R. McClymont was of the opinion that the explanation of the mystery of the Dieppe maps lay in cosmographical theory rather than in actual geographical discovery. He pointed out that the placement of "Jave la Grande" on the Dieppe maps was a theoretical construct and not the result of an actual discovery of [[Australia]]. In 1892, he drew attention to the identity of the "Jave la Grande" of the Dieppe maps with the outline of the coasts of [[South America]] and noted the placement on it of American place names such as Baye bresill, and adduced this as proof of “the complete absence of all connection between the theory of a [[Terra Australis]] and the geographical fact of the Australian continent”. His lament was that, “to this day a confusion exists between these distinct phenomena, which blurs the outlines of early Australian history”. McClymont cited the Franco-Portuguese navigator and cosmographer [[Jean Alfonse]] who, in his work of 1544, ''La Cosmographie'', identified Java Minor ([[Sumatra]]) as an island but Java Major ([[Java]]) as part of the continent of [[Terra Australis]], which extended as far as the Antarctic Pole and the [[Strait of Magellan]]. Based on a faulty reading of [[Marco Polo]], [[Jean Alfonse|Alfonse]] wrote in ''La Cosmographie'': “La Grand Jave is a land that goes as far as under the Antarctic Pole and from the Terre Australle in the west to the land of the [[Strait of Magellan]] on the eastern side. Some say that it is islands but from what I have seen of it, it is a continent [terre ferme]…That which is called Jave Mynore is an island, but la Grand Jave is terra firma.” (“Cest Jave est un terre qui va jusques dessoubz le polle antarctique et en occident tient à la terre Australle, et du cousté d’oriant à la terre du destroict de Magaillant. Aulcuns dient que ce sont isles. Et quant est de ce que j’en ay veu, c’est terre firme… Celle que l’on appelle Jave Mynore est une isle. Mais la Grand Jave est terre ferme”.) <ref> James R. McClymont, “The Theory of an Antipodal Southern Continent during the Sixteenth Century”, ''Report of the Fourth Meeting of the Australasian Association for the Advancement of Science'', Hobart, January 1892, Hobart, the Association, 1893, pp.442-462; James R. McClymont, “A Preliminary Critique of the Terra Australis Legend”, ''Papers and Proceedings of the Royal Society of Tasmania for 1890'', Hobart, 1890, pp.43-52, n.b. p.50; James R. McClymont, ''Essays on Historical Geography'', London, Quaritch, 1921, pp.16-18; Georges Musset (ed.), ''Receuil de Voyages et de Documents pour servir à l’Histoire de la Géographie'', XX, ''La Cosmographie'', Paris, 1904, f.147r. p.388-9; Pierre Margry, ''Les Navigations Françaises et la Révolution Maritime du XIVe au XVIe Siécle'', Paris, Librairie Tross, 1867, pp.316-7.</ref>
==Notes==
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==External links==
*[http://www.nla.gov.au/pub/gateways/issues/83/story01.html The National Library of Australia's Gateway site on exploration of Australia]
*[http://sunsite3.berkeley.edu/hehweb/HM29.html Images of the Vallard atlas (1547) at the Huntington Library]
*[http://www.bl.uk/onlinegallery/themes/mapsandviews/desworlmap.html Desceliers map (1550) at the British Library]
*[http://nla.gov.au/nla.map-rm1898 Desliens map(1566) reproduction at the National Library of Australia]
*[http://www.1421.tv/assets/images/1418_maps/8.jpg Rotz world map(1542) at Gavin Menzies' website]
*[http://www.smh.com.au/news/opinion/the-goans-get-tough-and-mystery-remains/2007/04/13/1175971344776.html ''The Goans get tough and the mystery remains'' by Phillip Knightly, Sydney Morning Herald, April 14, 2007]
[[Category:History of Australia before 1788]]
[[Category:Maps]]
[[Category:16th century works]]
[[Category:Exploration of Australia]]
[[fr:Ecole de cartographie de Dieppe]]
[[pt:Mapas de Dieppe]]