Samuel Fritz, a Jesuit missionary, spent 42 years in South America. During this time he mapped the missionary territory on the Upper Maranon between Peru and Quito, which was involved in a boundary dispute between Spain and Portugal. In 1689 he explored the Amazon and charted the river's course. This was the first approximately correct chart of the Maranon territory. He was also the first to follow the Tunguragua instead of the Gran Para (Ucayali) and prove it was the real source of the Maranon. His important chart and the fascinating story of his imprisonment as a suspected Spanish spy were copied in numerous accounts during the 18th century, including Lettres Edifiantes et Curieuses. Dissected and backed with contemporary brown linen with title in brown manuscript ink on a paper label.

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Condition: B

Trimmed into neatline with a manuscript ink notation above cartouche.