Cartografía y cartografía simbólica: Las "Theses de Mathematicas, de Cosmographia e Hidrographia" de Vicente De Memije

Abstract

In his 1761 thesis presented in Manila, Vicente de Memije proposed a new direct route around Cape Horn, contrasting with the prevailing route that had linked the Iberian Peninsula to the Philippines since the 16th century. His text was addressed to King Carlos III, whom it encourages to continue the missionary work in Asia begun by his predecessors. In his proposal, the Philippine archipelago, which had served as the main base for multiple religious orders to carry out the spiritual conquest of Asian lands since the 16th century, would continue to play this central role. His work also tried to demonstrate the need to establish a Hispanic cartographical tradition based upon the measurement of degrees of longitude oriented toward cardinal West, rejecting the measurements that various cosmographers had defined for the Spanish dominions and the Pacific Ocean. De Memije's thesis presents a graphic device in the form of two prints of immense scientific and artistic value. In order to create the first print, signed by Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay, he drew from diverse French, English, and Dutch graphic sources, as the information he obtained from contemporary Spanish works was limited. The second one is signed by Laureano de Atlas and constitutes one of the greatest creations of symbolic cartography.