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Mercator Projection Maps

Type Object Region Europe Time 1569

Mercator projection maps are charts and maps drawn using the Mercator conformal cylindrical projection, first systematically published by Flemish geo…

Timeline

  1. 1569Antwerp · FlandersMercator published in Antwerp the Nova et Aucta Orbis Terrae Descriptio, systematically displaying global coastlines with a conformal cylindrical projection so that rhumb lines appeared as straight lines, providing a key tool for ocean-going sailing navigation.
  2. 1580–1610Amsterdam · Dutch RepublicFrom the late 16th to the early 17th century, Dutch cartographers inherited and refined the Mercator projection, applying it to larger-scale regional charts and atlases, continuously updating coastline and route information in line with the ocean trade needs of companies such as the East India Company.
  3. 1611–1620European Atlantic ports · Atlantic coastBy the 1610s, the Mercator projection had become the standard chart system used by European ocean-going merchant ships and navies; publishers printed navigational atlases in bulk, and crews planned transoceanic routes using compass bearings combined with straight rhumb lines, supporting the expansion of global trade.

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