TAMPA, Fla. — If you’re looking for something to do, you may want to check out a new exhibit at the Tampa Bay History Center called “Mapping the American Sea: A Cartographic History of the Gulf of Mexico,” which showcases the very first printed map that names Florida.
“So, we’re here at the Touchstone Map Library at the Tampa Bay History Center, and we’re kind of, literally, unveiling one of our newest acquisitions, certainly one of the most important maps that we have in the collection,” said Rodney Kite-Powell, a historian with the Tampa Bay History Center.
This original map was printed in 1524 and is the first printed map that names Florida. Kite-Powell told me cartographers are surprised at just how accurately this details the future state and the Gulf of Mexico.
“You can see the condition of it is really, really almost pristine,” said Kite-Powell.
The history behind this map starts about 500 years ago when the Spanish king sent the Spanish conquistador Hernan Cortez to sail to the New World. Kite-Powell told me he was just supposed to explore what was here.
“But what he did instead was capture and take over the Aztec Empire,” said Kite-Powell.
While in this part of the world, Cortez would create the very first printed map naming Florida and even showing the Mississippi River, though it’s believed he received help from the indigenous people who were already here.
“In addition to the Cortez map, we have lots of other maps of Florida and the Gulf Coast.”
The exhibit also has a touchscreen where you can learn about map-making over hundreds of years. It will run from Saturday, August 3, to April 2025.
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