Map of South America, 1700 - Guillaume Delisle

Guillaume Delisle's map represents one of the first modern attempts at scientific cartography of the continent. The result of new French and Iberian geographical observations, it corrects many errors of 17th-century maps and reduces the use of imaginary lands and coastlines. The profile of the Atlantic and Pacific coasts is rendered with greater precision, while the great rivers – particularly the Amazon and Río de la Plata – are depicted as structural axes of the colonial territory. The map also reflects French political interest in the balance of colonial powers, highlighting Spanish and Portuguese domains, coastal trade hubs, and main urban settlements.

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