IMCoS Map Lectures: Wes Brown, Alzate y Ramirez & the mapping of New Spain

International Map Collectors' Society

IMCoS Lectures Series, June 2021: Wes Brown, Alzate y Ramirez and the mapping of New Spain

In 1768 Mexican Jesuit priest Don José Antonio de Alzate y Ramirez created a large manuscript map of New Spain (defined at the time as those portions of North America controlled by Spain) which, in a bold move, he sent to the French Royal Academy of Sciences hoping that the learned society would publish it. For centuries, Spain had guarded its geographic knowledge about the New World and rarely allowed information to be published. Alzate’s outrageous breech of protocol resulted in the publication of the only printed map of New Spain using Spanish information in the eighteenth century. The map is rich with new geographic information of the area which would become the western United States. This presentation describes this extraordinary map in the context of the limited knowledge of that region of America at the time.


Wes has been a collector of old maps for over 45 years with a particular interest in the exploration and settlement of Colorado and western North America from the sixteenth through to the twentieth century. His other collecting passion is early world maps up to 1540. Over those years he has been an eager student of the history of maps and mapmaking, a frequent speaker at conferences, and has published numerous articles. He is the founder of the Rocky Mountain Map Society and IMCoS International Chairman. 
This talk is part of a series of lectures organized and hosted by the International Map Collectors' Society in June 2021. The lectures will be:
9 June, 7PM, the Malcolm Young Lecture, Daniel Crouch: The Spanish Armada Maps
16 June, 2 PM, Peter Geldart, Mapping the British Occupation of Manila 1762–64 (PLEASE NOTE DIFFERENT TIME, 2PM, FOR THIS TALK)
23 June, 7 PM, Paula van Gestel, Wall maps published in the Netherlands between c.1550 and 1850
30 June, 7 PM, Wes Brown, Alzate y Ramirez and the mapping of New Spain 
Registered attendees for each event will receive a Zoom link one week before the event. Reminder emails, with the joining link, will be sent two days and one day before the event. If you have any questions about registration or using Zoom, please email Katie Parker at kaparker18th@gmail.com 
Interested in more events like this? Do you like maps and want to connect to other enthusiasts and collectors? Consider joining the International Map Collectors' Society. More information is available here: https://www.imcos.org/membership-levels/

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IMCoS Map Lectures: Wes Brown, Alzate y Ramirez & the mapping of New Spain

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