Profit and Pain in the 17th Century (the Art and Cartography)

Presented by Dr Robert Clancy
Time & Venue: Protected content

The 17th century was all about globalisation, as European powers sought priority in trade with the east. No period is more beautifully illustrated than this, in contemporary maps. This period of Dutch dominance of trade with the East, was paralleled by its predominance amongst map makers and publishers, striving to keep the high ground in economic power. This presentation uses contemporary maps of great beauty, to illustrate the trade routes and discovery, from Roman, Silk Roads, then Portuguese and Dutch perspectives as regional control changed over the centuries. The European discovery of Australia was a consequence of this evolving trade route network, and again, no contemporary document better illustrates these findings than do maps. Especially by the Dutch, despite a total lack of interest in a perceived low economic zone.

Robert is Foundation Professor of Pathology at the innovative medical school in Newcastle. Robert has collected maps of Terra Australis for 40 years, as decorative documents of history – with special interest in Australia and Antarctica. Robert sees maps as a way of illustrating and understanding the past, he has written 4 books on historic cartography and lectures and writes widely on a variety of cartographic topics.