Map of the Strait of Magellan (1638)

This map, published by Hendrik Hondius in 1638, shows the Strait of Magellan.

Hendrik Hondius was part of a family of Dutch cartographers who devoted their lives to publishing and improving Mercator's atlas. The 1638 edition, signed only by Hendrik Hondius, features this map of the southern American continent, the first to show the Strait of Magellan, which separates Tierra del Fuego from the rest of the continent.

The map uses different colours to represent the islands, although this does not correspond to any type of political division. The Atlantic side of the strait is represented more accurately than the Pacific side, where the representation is far from reality.

Sources

• Image of Magellan Street