Among the most expressive and decorative works of early mapmaking are the series of maps showing the Netherlands and Belgium in the shape of a lion. The idea of a map in the shape of a lion was very appealing and was copied by many cartographers, including Jan van Doetecum, C. J. Visscher, and P. van den Keere.

Three distinct types of variations are found:

• The lion standing facing right with the right paw raised,
• The lion sitting facing left, and
• The "Leo Hollandicus," showing only the area of Holland.

The use of the lion image was suggested by the vaguely leonine shape of the areas themselves. Also, the lion had long figured in the national iconography of Holland and Belgium; most of the coats-of-arms of the countries' seventeen provinces feature a lion. Moreover, the map was a statement of unity, since at the time the 17 provinces comprised a single nation, although under the yoke of Spain.

Leo Belgicus maps are perhaps the most famous examples of cartography as an expression of national pride. The bold image clearly struck a chord in a nation that was beginning to take a prominent role in the world arena. In fact, the map's popularity paralleled the growth of the commercial might of the Low Countries.

Leo Hollandicus, 1648, Nicolas Visscher
	The map captures the spirit of the young country: its civic pride, with the vignette views of the principal cities and the entrepreneurial spirit. The lion stands on its back legs, with a sword bearing the motto "Patriae Defensio". Leo Hollandicus, therefore, reflects new independence, patriotism, spirit of the defiance and optimism of the Dutch Republic.

Leo Belgicus, 1617, P.Kaerius
	Van den Keer (Kaerius) was one of the most skilled Flemish engravers of the early 17th Century, whose talents were utilized, among others, by the English map publisher John Speed. The Leo Belgicus is prehaps his finest work. Its rich ornamentation includes three couples along the bottom in the characteristic dress of the regions of Freisland, Holland and Belgium.

Leo Belgicus, 1651, Famiano Strada The lion faces right, with the title on the sheild held upright.

Leo Belgicus, 1611, Jodocus Hondius   (View Enlarged)
	Leo Belgicus is a well known work of Jodocus Hondius, one of the most prominent engravers in the Golden Age of Dutch cartography. Terra Incognita offers a high-quality reproduction of this map (Click here to view detail).

The Hondius Family is among the most important names associated with what has become known as the Dutch Golden Age of Cartography.

The family business was founded by Jodocus Hondius I (1563-1612) and after his death was carried on by his two sons, Jodocus Hondius II and Hendrik Hondius.

In 1584, because of the war with Spain and to escape religious persecution, Jodocus fled to London with his sister Jacomina, who was also an engraver. Family alliances led to Hondius' introduction to the leading scientists and geographers of the day and laid the groundwork for the remainder of his illustrious career.

1593 he returned to Amsterdam and established a business specializing in the making of maps and globes.

In 1604 Jodocus bought the copperplates of Mercator's Atlas, which had fallen behind in competition with Ortelius' popular atlas. He combined Mercator's original maps with about 40 of his own more up-to-date maps (including new maps of the Continents and important regional maps of the Americas) and from 1606 published enlarged editions of the Atlas, still under Mercator's name but with his own name as publisher.

These atlases have become known as the Mercator/Hondius series, with nearly 50 editions published between 1606 and 1641 in several different languages.

Between 1605 and 1610 he engraved the plates for the maps in John Speed's The Theatre of the Empire of Great Britaine.

Shortly before Jodocus' death in 1612, his daughter Elisabeth married another prominent publisher, Jan Jansson. The family firm continued to prosper, managed first by Coletta, then by Hendrik and Jodocus II, and finally passing on to Jansson.

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.