Maryland appears in many early regional maps of the North American east coast.  The depiction of Maryland and the Chesapeake, the country’s largest fresh-water bay, within the context of its neighbors serves to magnify Maryland’s position as a natural conduit for trade. Reliable information about the Chesapeake Bay and the Atlantic coast was essential in an area whose early economy, and at times its very existence, were determined by water. Sir Robert Dudley’s rare 1646 Carta Particolare della Virginia Vecchia e Nuova  was an early attempt to provide an accurate sea chart of the region based on the projection devised by Gerard Mercator.  The Mercator projection (in which all parallels and meridians meet at right angles and on which all directions are true) allowed a ship’s course to be set in a straight line on the chart, and the mariner would be certain to arrive at his destination.  Other  map-makers soon offered their own valuable contributions for the seafarer. 
 

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Exhibit Home Page

Room 1 Early Prototypes
Room 2 Chesapeake Bay
Room 3 Maryland's Counties and Neighbors
Room 4 The Mapping of Baltimore

MAPS: Room 2