“Maps and the first round-the-world voyage: The Magellan and Elcano expedition” is the title of the exhibition that will open to the public in the coming weeks at the Casa de la Ciencia Museum in Seville; without a doubt the great bet of our center for visitors in the year 2022.
The first circumnavigation of the world, which began in 1519 and ended in 1522, is the greatest exploratory feat in history, which can be compared with more recent milestones such as the arrival on the Moon. Our exhibition will show in a cartographic tour interesting aspects of the trip: its background, preparations, development and consequences. Starting from the geographical concepts of the ancients, we will go through the unexpected discovery of the American continent, the Tordesillas treaty by which Spain and Portugal shared the world, the cartographic espionage between the two Iberian powers, the spice trade as a real objective of the expedition or the first maps of the Strait of Magellan and the Moluccas Islands, all set in Spain in the 16th century.
Among the pieces to be exhibited are reproductions of maps and views of cities of the time, as well as very faithful facsimile reproductions of nautical charts, maps, globes and historical documents related to the expedition, all of them of great interest in the commemoration of such an incredible feat. The Exhibition will also include interactive modules and collection pieces from the Royal Botanical Garden (RJB-CSIC), the National Museum of Natural Sciences (MNCN-CSIC) and the School of Hispanic-American Studies (EEHA-CSIC). Likewise, the vast majority of these pieces belong to the cartographic and documentary collections of the National Geographic Institute.
Guided tours on Saturdays, Sundays and holidays at 11:30 a.m. included in the price, in order of arrival and until full capacity is reached. STARTING SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 26.
