When most of us think of history, we think of events and characters – pioneers, revolutionaries, leaders, and common folk. In comparison, maps might seem like mere background material. Can a bunch of squiggly shapes and criss-crossing lines really tell us much about our history?
During his long and lauded career as a historical writer, Carlos Quirino wrote dozens of acclaimed books on the lives of famous figures. And yet he also had a passion for the study of old maps, which he brought to life with his landmark Philippine Cartography.
Quirino understood that maps reflect not only physical landmasses and geographical advances, but the times in which they were made. With his engaging and articulate writing, he shows us how the Philippines was “born” as a concept and evolved in the public consciousness over the centuries, through the work of mapmakers and engravers from Europe and Asia. From that first sixteenth-century map that used the name “Filipina” to label a single tiny, narrow island, the archipelago that we know today gradually took shape.
Out of print for decades, Quirino’s classic is brought to light once more in this revised and expanded third edition, published by Vibal Foundation as part of its Filipiniana Clasica imprint. Renowned map expert Dr. Leovio Ma. Garcia edited this volume and wrote a new introduction, highlighting the love of cartography which he shares with Quirino and imparts to the readers. Artfully designed and illustrated with 120 beautifully reproduced maps and views, full of intricate detail and color, from local and international collections, the book is an object of beauty as well as a scholarly triumph.
India quae orientalis dicitur, et insulae adiacentes by Henricus Hondius, a sixteenth century map that shows the Philippine archipelago. (Malacañan Museum Collection)
Insulae Indiae Orientalis praecipuae in quibus Moluccae celeberrimae sunt by Gerard Mercator (1959). This map, made by world-famous cartographer Mercator, puts the Philippines at the very center of Asia. It also shows two ships -- The Spanish and the Dutch, alluding to the sea battle off Manila Bay in the 1600s. (Vibal Foundation Collection)
Insulae Philippinae is the first separate map of the Philippines drawn by Peter van der Keere in 1605. Despite some inaccuracies that could be expected of early maps, van der Keere's map shows the Philippines in greater detail than the works of other great cartographers of the era. (Miailhe Family Collection)
Vibal Foundation books are available worldwide through Amazon.com. In the Philippines, they are available at select National Bookstore, Powerbooks and Fully Booked outlets. To order directly, call our sales department at +63 2 712 9165 ext. 350. You can also send an email to sales@vibalfoundation.org.
Each country has its own maetnory system. Money is a medium of exchange. The currency includes coins and paper money of different denominations that are made legal tender by the Government edicts. For 100 dollars you get much larger sum in Yens than Pesos. Japanese have adopted a smaller unit of medium of exchange than Philippines and that does not indicate their financial strength.In the past the value of currency used to be backed by Gold but now International Monetary Fund has introduced managed currency system and the value of different currencies in relation to each other fluctuates according to demand of different currencies and Special Drawing Rights have replaced the gold standard in IMF. But in relation to the currencies of different countries.
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