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Map of the early colonial Philippines, noted for its comprehensiveness From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas (Spanish, lit. "Hydrographical and Chorographical Chart of the Philippine Islands"), more commonly known as the Velarde map, is a map of the Philippines made and first published in Manila in 1734 by the Jesuit cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde, the engraver Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay, and the artist Francisco Suárez.[2][3] The World Digital Library describes it as the "first and most important scientific map of the Philippines".[4] It is frequently referred to as the "Mother of all Philippine Maps".[5][1][6]
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During the British occupation of Manila between 1762 and 1764, the copper plates used to print the map were seized and transported to England, where they were used to produce multiple copies of the map.[7] Many copies from this reprinting later sold at very high prices as antiquities.
The map's title includes the following additional description: dedicada al Rey Nuestro Señor por el Mariscal d. Campo D. Fernando Valdes Tamon Cavallo del Orden de Santiago de Govor. Y Capn General de dichas Yslas (Spanish, "dedicated to the King Our Lord by Field Marshal Fernando Tamon Valdes, Knight of the Order of Santiago, Governor and Captain General of said Islands"). The map was created upon the behest of then governor-general Fernando Valdes y Tamon in response to an order from Philip V of Spain.[9] Alongside his name, Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay noted he was an "Indio Tagalo".[10]
The map shows maritime routes from Manila to Spain and New Spain. The Spanish royal coat of arms occupies a prominent space in the upper-middle portion of the map. On its flanks are twelve images, six to a side. Eight of these images depict various ethnic groups residing in the archipelago. The remaining four are cartographic depictions of cities and islands. The ethnic groups and individuals depicted include Chinese Filipinos ("Sangley"), "Cafres" (or East Africans brought to the Manila slave market by the Portuguese), a Canarin (a native of India on the Konkani coast, most likely a Goan or Mangalorean), a Lascar from India, Filipino Mestizos in Spanish colonial Philippines, a Mardica (natives of Ternate and Tidore that migrated to the Philippines such as in Ternate, Cavite and Tanza, Cavite), a Japanese migrant in the Philippines ("Japon"), Spaniards or Spanish Filipinos, Spanish Criollos, Filipino Natives ("Indios"), Aetas, an Armenian, a Mughal, a native of the Malabar region and a Visayan. Maps of "Samboangan" (known today as Zamboanga City, a city in Mindanao), the port of Cavite, the island of "Guajan" (Guam) and Manila, and illustrations of endemic plants and animals, occupy the remaining sections.
The Murillo Velarde map was widely reprinted. These include reproductions in Manila (1744), Vienna (1748) by Kaliwoda, Nuremberg (1760) by Lowitz, and in the first volume of Juan de la Concepcion's Historia General de Philipinas (1788).[9]
There are less than 50 extant copies of the map.[11] Some are mounted on a cloth backing measuring 112×120 cm. The map itself measures 108×71 cm and is on a scale approximating 1:1,400,000.
Murillo Velarde also published a smaller version of the Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Yslas Filipinas, one that did not include the twelve illustrations on the map's flanks. This version measures 51x33 cm. and was published in 1744.[6] There are extant copies in the collections of the Lopez Museum, National Library of the Philippines[11] and Boston Public Library Norman B. Leventhal Map Center.[19]
The Murillo Velarde map has been instrumental in the Philippines' efforts to assert territorial rights in the South China Sea. The map, along with 270 other maps, was used by the Philippines' team of experts to refute China's historic claim of ownership of the entire South China Sea.[16] The Philippines believes that the label Panacot on the map refers to the Scarborough Shoal, and it is the first map with label Panacot on it.[20][21] Professor Li Xiaocong of China pointed out that the label Panacot in the 1734 map was not Scarborough Shoal, and the three groups of islands, Galit, Panacot and Lumbay also appeared in the map published by China in 1717.[21] In 2016 the Permanent Court of Arbitration in The Hague ruled in favor of the Philippines, stating that China had "no historical rights" based on their nine-dash line map. China however, rejected the ruling,[22] and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte has seemingly decided not to act upon it.[23]
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