In the 3rd session of the 1st cycle Dialogues between literature and science: the measurement and representation of the world, we will talk about the figure of the cartographer and navigator Juan de la Cosa (Santoña, between 1450 and 1460-Turbaco, 1510), known for having participated in seven of the first trips to America and for having drawn the oldest map of the American continent that is preserved.
He had a leading role in the first and second voyages of Christopher Columbus to the Antilles and in 1499 he participated as a senior pilot in the Alonso de Ojeda expedition to the coasts of the South American continent. On his return to Andalusia he drew his famous world map and shortly after he embarked again towards the Indies, this time with Rodrigo de Bastidas. In the following years he alternated trips to America under his own command with special commissions from the Crown, including a mission as a spy in Lisbon and a participation in the Junta de Pilotos of Burgos of 1508. In 1509 he undertook what would be his last expedition to take possession of the coasts of present-day Colombia. La Cosa died in an armed confrontation with indigenous people before being able to serve as chief sheriff of Urabá (excerpt from Wikipedia).
María Antonia Colomar is a retired historian and facultative of the Archivo General de Indias, of which she was deputy director. 2017 National Prize of the Spanish Geographical Society for their contributions to the history of cartography. Among other topics, he has been interested in the relationship between Juan de la Cosa and the Casa de Contratación.
Javier Tazón is a novelist and author of a tetralogy about the sailor and cartographer of Santoña, Juan de la Cosa: El cartógrafo de la reina (Memorias de Juan de la Cosa) (2010), Las rutas del Norte (2011), El mapa perdido (2014) and La estela del cartógrafo (2017).
The dialogue will be moderated by the GEHC member Carme Montaner.
The session will take place next Wednesday, November 20, at 7:00 pm, at the Archivo de la Corona de Aragón (Palacio de los Virreyes; Carrer dels Comtes, 2; Barcelona).
The entrance is free with pre-inscription to direccion_aff.barcelona@correo.gob.es