Cortornos del lago de Mexico

Fine Engraving of the Lago de Mexico and its Environs, now Drained

This engraving shows the environs around the Lago de Mexico. Now the lake is gone, drained over the course of several centuries to control flooding and allow for expansion.

The lake is criss-crossed by several bridges which connect towns floating on the water. Towns radiate from the lake, marked by tiny drawings of buildings. Many of the place names here are in nahuatl, the Aztec language, and are no longer in use.

Mexico City lies in a valley, with mountains to the south, west, and east. Only to the north is there flat land (northeast) and grass land (northwest).

The map was originally made in the sixteenth century, but it was also included in an edition of Antonio de Solís’ Historia de la conquista de Mexico, poblacion y progressos de la America septentrional, conocida por el nombre de Nueva España. Solís (1610-86) was a historian and dramatist who served as chronicler of the Indies, or the official historian of the Spanish Empire.

He published the Historia in 1684. It covers the three years from when Cortés was first appointed to command the Spanish invaders until the fall of Tenóchtitlan. The book was rapidly translated to French and Italian (1690s) and English (1738) and was reprinted many times in the eighteenth century. It served as the leading history of the Spanish Conquest until the nineteenth century.

This map was part of the new edition of 1704, published in Brussels by Francisco Foppens. Foppens (1685-1761) was a bookseller and publisher from a family of publishers who produced works in Spanish, French, and Latin.

It was placed at page 272, as can be seen from the folio number in the upper right corner.