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In Atlantic Canada at least as much land has been lost to the ocean
as has been gained from it since the last great continental glacier
commenced its retreat. At that time it has been guessed that the mass of
the Laurentide ice sheet was approximately the same as that now held in
the Antarctic Polar Cap. There is evidence that the ice sheet pulled back
haltingly as the forces of solar radiation and rising sea-water began to
dominate the frozen water. There are also suggestions that the melting
went faster on the Atlantic coast that elsewhere, the process beginning
18,000 years ago.
At that time, the seas were much lower than at present, since the
Laurentide Ice was not the only continental glacier tying up a huge mass
of potential ocean-water. Douglas R. Grant has suggested that extensive
ice domes may have existed on the continental shelves and that the
maximum of glaciation may have seen ice standing very close to the
continental slope. At that, his map of the situation in Quaternary Geology
of the Atlantic Appalachian Region of Canada suggests that much of the
Newfoundland Banks would have been dry land, as was the case the fishing
banks east of Cape Cod.
This last place has special connection with Saint Ursula, a fifth
century daughter of King Theonestus of Brittany. She was endowed with
great beauty but refused all suitors until Aggripus, King of England, sent
ambassadors to her court, asking that she consent to marriage with his
son Conon. Ursula said she would agree, but on condition that she be
allowed ten virgin handmaidens as companions. These ladies were to have
a thousand maidens as their helpers and the princess required an
additional thousand attendants to met her personal needs. She also
insisted that she should be allowed three years to visit the shrines of
various Christian saints and that all the English court should be converted
to the new religion.
The Vaz Dourado map of 1540 is interesting in that Cabo Bretao has
been extended to all the countryside from the Penobscot top Cape Breton.
On this map Sablon, or “Sable Island” makes an early appearance, but this
map is, in most respects, a retreat to earlier forms and information. A
new addition is the Baie dos Fumos, “the Bay of Smokes,” possibly modern
Cape Smoky on Cape Breton Island or Pictou Harbour, which had a
reputation for smoke issuing from burning underground tar-pits.
The Desliens map, published in 1541 is a better representation of
eastern North America. Here all of the east has become terre des
bretrons, the “Land of the Britons.” Otherwise this map is not very
significant except for the unique spelling of Norumbega: Anoranbegue and
the first appearance of the R. grande, possibly the first notice taken of the
Bay of Fundy under this name.
In the Morgan Atlas of 1542 Nova Scotia has something of the look of
a peninsula but the Bay of Fundy is still absent, but possibly represented
in a minor indentation of the coast entitled R: de fundu. In this drawing
the mythic islands of St. Croix and de berton appear in linguistically
altered form and the isles of virgins seem to have become the I: de
plaisance or “Isles of pleasure.” The Santa Cruz map retains the old form
of showing the Penobscot as north the “Cape of many islands,” but the
river is now called R. d las gamas, “River of Whales.” The Ulpius Globe,
of this same date, is almost indecipherable because of its small scale, but
it does credit Verrazana as the founder of eastern North America, and
claims that the place should bear his name or that of Nova Gallia, roughly,
“New land of the Foreigners (i.e. French). This is one of the few maps to
omit Cape Breton although it does have Cavo de Brettoni in the traditional
location. This map shows the land, or place, called Flora , “Flowering
Place,”moved from an older location south of Cape Cod to what is now New
Brunswick.
In the Vallard map of 1547 the Cape of Many Islands has become cap
de la crois while Whale River has become Whale Bay.
From the standpoint of mythology the Gestaldi map printed in the
next year, is more interesting since it has a full complement of strange
islands dotting the Oceanus Occidentale. This sea-chart harks back to
earlier days, representing a Brisa I as immediately south of P Real in the
land of Norumbega The Island of Brothers has become corrupted as
Breston I., but is in its traditional position due south of Newfoundland.
Notice that orbellande, the “beautiful golden” island is very much
displaced to the east as is the case with ye: verd and Maidas . The cluster
of islands, further south, in a parallel with Florida, appear to be islands
actually discovered off the coast of Africa.
The fact that Cabot had charted Isle Saint John properly, due north
of Nova Scotia did not prevent map-makers from perpetuating the earlier
idea that Nova Scotia was this island, and it appears in the old location in
the Guilierrez map of 1550, where it is referred to as Ye de la Jn. The
northern mainland has Cape Breton represented on it as C brreton. Aside
from this there is a very interesting configuration of the Islands of
Virgins, which is represented as a, more or less, triangular atoll. These
islands are in approximately the same place on the “R.G.S.” map but are
called the Isles of Pleasure.
On the Harleian map Cape Breton has become corrupted to read C.
berton, and this model is followed by Lopo Homem in 1554, where the
word becomes C dos bertois. Here, the mythic islands again appear as
sea-fortresses, one of which is now identified I de S brandon, or
“Brendan’s Isle.” The Rio canadaro map follows this form in its
architectural representations of four islands in the ocean.
For even more confusion note the Ortelius map from the year 1564:
Canada is represented here as an island in a vast northern sea. Terra de
Norvmbega corresponds very roughly with modern New England, which is
separated from Canada proper by the much enlarged Golfo des Games.
There are little clues suggesting that this island is New Brunswick,
another “Canada” being represented northwest of this land. The Rio
grande is likely the Bay of Fundy, and we know that Terra Nvova is not
Newfoundland but Cape Breton, for it bears C. Bretois in the southeast,
while Cape Race is one more island toward the east. To create greater
trouble some New Brunswick place names have unaccountably slid down
the coastline into Cape Breton. The mythic islands are fairly well
represented, but widespread. The Y. fagunda may be seen south of Terra
Nvova with Y. di S. Brandas a bit southeast of this place, as is Y da grasa
(Green Island)? Brions Island is north of Cape Breton as is the very real
Sable Island.
The Luis map drawn and published about the year 1563 shows
several mythic islands, but on our copy the only one named is Y. alvez, far
to the southeast of Newfoundland.
The Zalterius map of 1565 is very like maps of the year 1562, but
here the Rio grande has become the R. S. Lorenzo , the “Saint Lawrence
River,” which is also seen as an unnamed northern river of huge
dimensions. In this classic case of confusion the St. Lawrence lies within
Larcadia which is directly attached Terra de Baccalos , Quebec, and Terra
Della Labrador. Uncertain where Cape Breton lay, Zalterius represented it
as south of Cape Despair. He scattered the mythic isles about Grand,
which appears to represent Newfoundland, in the north he named Y. di
Demoni, in the south Y de Orlando, Verde, Maida, and Brazil. He was less
certain about the location of Cape Race and represented it as an island
south of the Land of Codfish.
The Mercator map of 1569 represents the first step towards realism
in map-making but mythic places remain: On this map notice the village
of Norombega in the countryside of Norombega. It is no longer on the Bay
of Many Isles but on the r. grande, which is later associated with the Bay
of Fundy rather than the Penobscot River. In this map the island called
Briso is shown further east than before very close to the island and the
cape named Breton. The mythic islands are three, in the ocean south of
Newfoundland. Do breton is familiar, as is Y: de Juan estevêz, but
arredonda is new to the scene. I think this last descriptive has the sense
of a steep-faced “plump”island. The Ortelius map of 1570 is close in
configuration to the Mercator map but it pushes Norvumbega a little
further in the direction of Cape Breton and omits the island of Juan
Estevan (John Stephen). This map shows Estoitiland, on Hudson’s Bay
with one of the Fortunate Isles and the Island of Demons in close
proximity. A map of Novia Francia from this same series reinstates As
Virgines and brings back the old convention of representing the ocean-
islands as fortresses. The Ilha da Fortuna is still in place south of
Estotiland but the Isle of Demons has been transmutated into I
d”Arnoredos , “Isle of Northern Refuge.” The southern continental shelf is
dominated by the island of St. Brandon, the isle S. Cruz and the Faguna al
de Jan Alvarez, The Ortelius map of 1570 is very similar but Estoitilant
has a Middle English spelling and is close by Y das demonias and the
additional Drageo, Island of “Dragons.” Noróbaga is still in its traditional
place as are the three islands of Arredoda, Dobretan and Juan. Due south
are the islands of Santana and the Sept cites, the latter supposedly
discovered a full century earlier. The same holds for Brasile, shown here
in its old location not far west of Irlant. In mid-ocean note the much
displaced island of S. Brâdam, which modern map-makers position off the
east coast of Newfoundland. An even later map, designed by Martines in
1578, also places Islant Brazille in Old World waters.