ONE OF THE FINEST SEVENTEENTH-CENTURY MAPS OF ZEELAND
“Comitatus Zelandiae Nova Descriptio,” copper engraving made by Claes Jansz. Visscher in 1636, here in an edition issued in 1657 by his son Nicolaes Visscher. Coloured by a later (?) hand. Size: 47 × 56.5 cm. In frame.
This richly decorated map depicts the county of Zeeland with the islands of Walcheren, North and South Beveland, Schouwen, Duiveland, Tholen and Sint-Philipsland, as well as parts of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen and the adjoining regions of Brabant and Flanders. The islands appear as separate land masses within the broad estuaries of the Scheldt and the Meuse, a landscape which in the seventeenth century was still largely shaped by tidal waters, mudflats and salt marshes.
The map is oriented towards the northwest and shows in detail the network of towns, villages, dikes and polders. Important places such as Middelburg, Vlissingen, Zierikzee, Veere, Goes and Tholen are clearly indicated. Smaller islands and sandbanks in the estuaries — such as those in the Oosterschelde and the Westerschelde — are also carefully represented.
The inundated areas in the western part of Zeeuws-Vlaanderen around Aardenburg are absent. The reclaimed part of Noord-Beveland — the Oud-Noord-Bevelandpolder of 1598 and the Nieuw-Noord-Bevelandpolder of 1616 — is shown with a rectangular pattern of land division. While the rectangular layout is correct, the pattern itself does not correspond with the manuscript maps produced at the time of the reclamation. The transverse canal depicted never existed. Moreover, at this moment only about one third of the island had been reclaimed. Further large reclamation projects would later take place to the south, but there is no room for them on the map because the surrounding water is shown too narrowly.
On Zuid-Beveland the ambacht (administrative district) of Borssele is shown as dry land, yet the old drowned villages, which were never rebuilt, are still indicated. In the western part of Zuid-Beveland the area labelled ’t Nieuwland appears; this must represent the Kraaijert polders, which here are depicted on a map for the first time. The body of water separating this area from the rest of the island never existed. The North Sea coast of Walcheren is shown rounded, whereas in reality the coastline near Westkapelle is pointed.
The map shows a dense road network. It is unclear which sources were used for this feature. It is quite possible that the network was partly invented at the drawing table, connecting villages with a combination of limited knowledge and considerable imagination.
Since no new survey of Zeeland had taken place, the map must in principle still be based on the map of Zeeland made in 1560 by Jacob van Deventer. For later additions Claes Jansz. Visscher may have relied on existing regional maps.
This map belongs to the group of cartes-à-figures, which were published in Amsterdam during the first half of the seventeenth century. More than a hundred such maps are known, including several depicting Dutch provinces. The number varies greatly per province: seven were produced for Holland, three for Brabant, and only this one for Zeeland. The decorative border typically consists of coats of arms of cities, town views and costume figures representing the different social classes.
The large panoramic view of Middelburg at the top is copied from a four-sheet engraving by François Schillemans from 1616. The translated title reads: “Middelburg, capital of Zeeland, a centre renowned for its trade and navigation.” The view of Vlissingen is based on an engraving by Jan Pieterz. van der Venne. Zierikzee was made after a drawing by Claes Jansz. Visscher himself. The tower of Fort Bath (“Batsen toorn”) was likewise copied from a drawing by Visscher, in which the tower is shown twice, from the east and west sides. Only the eastern view was copied on the map. The tower can be found in the drowned land of Zuid-Beveland, east of Rilland. Visscher made an error in depicting “Outongen”, since Oude Tonge lies on Overflakkee and therefore does not belong to Zeeland.
Along the left border are shown: the coat of arms of Zeeland, a nobleman, a view of Veere, a burgher’s wife, a view of Reimerswaal (a town that disappeared beneath the sea in the eighteenth century), a farmer and Fort Rammekens. On the right appear the tower from the coat of arms of Middelburg, a noblewoman, a view of Tholen, a burgher, a view of Goes and a peasant woman.
Claes Jansz. Visscher (1587–1652) was one of the most important Amsterdam publishers of maps and prints in the first half of the seventeenth century. After his death his publishing house was continued by his son Nicolaes Visscher (1618–1679), who reissued many of the copperplates, often with minor changes and an updated date, as here with the year 1657.
Through its combination of geographical detail and rich decorative elements, this map ranks among the finest seventeenth-century maps of Zeeland. It served not only as a geographical representation but also as a visual tribute to the prosperity, urban culture and maritime significance of the Zeeuwse islands during the Dutch Golden Age.
