This three-part program will feature charts of Florida's coastline as well as maps of its interior from the early 16th century right down to the satellite-generated maps of the present day. Along the way we will examine Italian, Spanish, French, English and American maps, and we will analyze the role of early navigational instruments on the unfolding geographic understanding of our peninsula. We will see the effect over time of better, more sophisticated instruments in producing more accurate examples of the cartographer’s art across the span of five centuries. Participants will see some unusual geographic understandings of Florida including: a chart attributed to Ponce de Leon's 1513 voyage depicting Florida as an island; a French map showing Florida as a peninsula of China; and a map of Florida from the 1830s minus Lake Okeechobee. Suggested Reading: The Southeast in Early Maps, Third Edition. William P. Cumming;
The Discovery of North America. New York: American Heritage Press, 1971. William P. Cumming, Raleigh A. Skelton and David B. Quinn;
The Mapping of North America. New York: Harry N. Abrams, Inc., Publishers, 1980. Seymour Schwartz and Ralph E. Ehrenberg.
A History of Florida through New World Maps: Borders of Paradise, With Catalog Annotations and essay by Peter A. Cowdrey, Jr. and Essays by Dana Ste. Claire. Gainesville: University Press of Florida, 1997.
Maximum Class Size: 58.
