Mathematical elements: the North, South, equator and tropic of Cancer are marked.
Latitude scale: 1 o = 8 mm.
League scale: 1 league = 1 mm.
Four compass roses with 32 radii and a cross to mark the East.
Illustrations: The coat of arms and flag of Portugal are drawn on the western coast of Africa.
The contents of this map are similar to those of the famous map of the North Atlantic drawn for the 1558 Atlas, although its scale is smaller. The territory covered is as follows: To the North, the map extends slightly beyond the north of the British Isles; the western frame of the map lies to the west of the Fandi Gulf, along the southern and western limits. The boundaries and geographic content of the map coincide in general with those of the North Atlantic map although the European coastline has fewer geographical names and the rivers are not as detailed. The most important islands along the coast of North America are however featured. There are differences in the composition of the map: the coats of arms and flags of Spain are not depicted.
It is also similar to the map in the 1568 Atlas, although the centre of the map has been shifted to the north-west, hence less territory in America is covered.
The frames around the map are the same as those in the 1561 Atlas.
Ludmila Kildushevskaya
Russian National Library
(Fragment of the Universal Atlas of Diogo Homem commentary volume)
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