Printing House of the Family Blaeu

The Flemish printing family of Blaeu were mainly involved in the printing of geographic books, nautical maps and atlases. These works were much sought after, particularly their collections of maritime maps, together with descriptions of the coastlines and the accounts of their voyages, destined mainly for use by navigators, all of which greatly contributed to the fortunes of the Blaeu family. The founder of the family was Willem Janszoon Blaeu.

Willem was born in Alkmaar, Holland in 1571 and died in Amsterdam in 1638. The son of a herring merchant (herring traders were entitled to titles of nobility in Holland at the time), he was a keen student of mathematics and astronomy.

In 1594 he left for Denmark, where he stayed for about two years with the famous astronomer Tycho Brahe at his observatory, on the island of Hveen, learning the fundamentals of cosmography and geography, and the construction and use of astronomical instruments.

He later returned to his own country in about 1597, where he opened a shop for mathematical and astronomical instruments, distinguishing himself as a producer of globes and, later, as a cartographer and writer.

On his death, his sons Cornelius and Jan continued the business and followed in his footsteps. Of the two, Jan was better known as a typographer and also as a famous lawyer. He was born in Amsterdam in 1596 and died there in 1673. He was head of the company business from 1638 when he was appointed the official cartographer for the Dutch East India Company

In February 1672 a fire broke out in the main printing press at Gravenstraat. The damage was enormous, destroying not only thousands of paper sheets and printed maps, but also copper plates and metal for type, both of which melted in the heat. Although his other press at Bloemgracht continued to print, the loss must have been considerable.

The situation was made worse by Blaeu's fall from political office under the new regime of William III (of Orange) later in the year. Many of his surviving copper plates were sold, particularly to Frederick de Wit.

In December 1673, Joan Blaeu died, leaving his 22-year-old son Joan Blaeu II in control of the company. The Blaeu press continued to publish maps and other works, but its heyday was over, and the firm ceased operations in the early years of the 18th century. A great era in cartographic history was over.

Inaugurated by Ortelius and Mercator in 16th Century, the Golden Age found its fullest expression during the 17th Century with the production of monumental multi-volume world atlases in Amsterdam by Joan Blaeu, Jan Jansson, C. Visscher, Abraham Goos, and Frederik de Wit. During that time Antwerp and then Amsterdam became two of the wealthiest trading cities in Europe, and centres of art and printing.

Sixteen Century Dutch Cartographers:

• Gerard Mercator (1512-1594). He was an astronomer, mathematician, cartographer, instrument and globe maker. Mercator surveyed, engraved and produced maps. His sons and grandsons were all cartographers involved in the production of maps and atlases. He is best remembered for Mercator's projection.
• Abraham Ortelius (1527-1598). In 1570 issued the first atlas, "Theatrum Orbis Terrarum." During the next 42 years the Theatrum was re-issued in 42 editions!
• Jodocus Hondius (1563-1612).
• Georg Braun (1541-1622) and Franz Hogenebrg (1535-1590). In 1572 they began to issue the "Civitates Orbis Terrarum," their wonderful six-volume atlas of the world's cities.

Seventeenth Century Dutch Cartographers:

• Willem Janszoon Blaeu (1571-1638) was trained by Tycho Brahe in astronomy. He was a surveyor, globe-maker, and publisher; his sons, also cartographers of considerable esteem, were Joan (1596-1673) and Cornelius (?-1642). Blaeu's Atlases were printed from 1630 to 1662. In 1672 most of the maps and printing presses were destroyed in a fire.
• Jan Jansson (1596-1664). A contemporary and rival of Blaeu. Produced Ptolemy's Geography in 1617 and constructed globes. He issued atlases together with his brother-in law Hondius from 1638.

The Dutch Republic was a federation of seven provinces - Holland, Zeeland, Friesland, Groningen, Utrecht, Gelderland and Overijssel. The central institution was the parliament, called Staten Generael, to which the individual provinces sent deputations. The individual provinces had parliaments of their own, the estates (Staten), which had grown out of the old territorial estates, but had undergone changes during the Dutch Revolt. These estates were dominated by the cities' Regents and, in the inland provinces, by the countryside nobility which supported the House of Orange. The Dutch Republic never developed a written constitution. The constitution, for the next 100 years, was to go through further changes, as the Republic's institutions were not fixed.

Economically, the years from 1600 onward saw a period of prosperity. In 1600 the first Dutch ship returned from a trip to India, bringing a cargo of spices and other highly priced products. Amsterdam profitted the most. The city population more than tripled from approximately 30,000 in 1565 to over 100,000 in 1630, as many of the refugees from Antwerp settled down here.

The Dutch call the period between 1600 and 1672 their Golden Age. A part of the profits made were invested in Land Reclamation: Windmills were built, and the wind energy applied to drain lakes in Holland.

The central element of the Dutch economy was the Bourse of Amsterdam (stock exchange). The bourse was a great success and served as the model for stock markets everywhere.

Lessons had to be learned, too: During the years between 1634 and 1637, the bourse went through a frenzy called the Tulipomania - rare breeds of tulip bulbs at the height of the frenzy achieved prices of 6,000 Florins! For comparison, the United West India Company paid a mere 60 Florins, plus some glass beads, for the entire island of Manhattan in 1625.