Iberian cartography, 1400–1600

Iberian cartography was the art and science of mapping out the lands of the Iberian Peninsula (the countries of Spain and Portugal) between 1400 and 1600. Cartographers of the time wanted to create maps of the region that were as accurate as possible. To do this, they combined what they knew of the geography of the area with their own observations and information they collected from sailing ships and other travelers who had explored the region. They also used instruments like the astrolabe and quadrant to measure the angles of the stars and location of landforms to make their maps more accurate.