Nautical cartography in the 16th century

At the beginning of the 16th century independent workshops in the Mediterranean seaport cities were actively engaged in the production of nautical charts; and there was also a vigorous chart-industry in Portugal, largely under official patronage and control. The process led by an easy transition to the first printed sea-atlas, De Spieghel der Zeevaert of the Enkhuizen pilot Lucas Janszoon Waghenaer, printed by Plantijn in 1584–1585, with charts engraved by Jan van Doetecum. This marked an epoch in nautical cartography. The earliest Portuguese cartographers whose names are known from signed work or from documents are Pedro Reinel and his son Jorge Reinel. Portuguese cartographers and theoretical writers on navigation seem to have been the first to recognise the errors of plane charts, which ignored the earth's curvature and the convergence of meridians. Both Spain and France attracted Portuguese pilots and chartmakers into their service during the 16th century, and these men brought Portuguese charts with them.