Kaart van de tocht van Jacob le Maire om Kaap Hoorn, 1616 1617 - 1646

This map, made in 1616 by an anonymous artist, charts Jacob le Maire’s voyage around Cape Horn. It's made with ink on paper, materials that belie the immense skill and labor involved in its creation. Consider the social context: maps like this were not just geographical tools; they were instruments of power. They fueled colonial ambitions, charting routes for trade and conquest. The act of mapping was an act of claiming. The delicate lines and precise details speak to a culture obsessed with control and exploitation of the world. The map’s very existence is tied to global capitalism. It represents the cutting edge of technology of its day, the result of countless hours of observation, calculation, and drafting. We can appreciate the level of precision, and how this was at the service of larger political and economic forces, underscoring the entanglement of art, labor, and imperial expansion.