The Secret Atlas of the Dutch East India Company
For two centuries, from 1602 to 1799, the Dutch East India Company (VOC: Vereenigde Geoctroieerde Oostindische Compagnie) ruled the waters of Asia and Africa. Accurate charting of these waters was essential for succesful and safe navigation.
The VOC had their own mapmaking office. During the first 150 years, only secret manuscript charts were used, to minimize the risk of spreading the knowledge to competitors. For an example of such a unique manuscript chart that is offered by us click here.
From 1753 onwards, a printed atlas was used, with printed charts to navigate the waters from South Africa to Japan. The atlas was produced by Johannes (II) van Keulen, official hydrographer to the VOC, and was officially known as Part VI of the Zee-Fakkel (Sea-Torch).
There was a variety of reasons to publish the charts in print:
In the course of 150 years the knowledge of these waters had leaked out to other European nations and secrecy was of less importance.
Printed maps were more accurate and less prone to errors than manuscript copies.
Loose maps were impractical and sometimes lost despite the strict policies of use.
Last but not least, printed maps were cheaper to (re-)produce than manuscript maps.
The atlas is known as the secret atlas because it was not sold and only used by VOC ships. For these reasons it is extremely rare, and only a few examples have survived.
In addition, the number if charts in the atlas is often limited because ships that did not sail to India/Ceylon or China/Formosa/Japan were given restricted versions of the atlas that did not contain the charts of these areas.
Important van Keulen map of the VOC area, covering the area from Cape of Good Hope to Japan and including Australia. This example from the rare secret atlas of the Dutch East India Company. The title cartouche is famous for it's Tartar decapitation scene.
