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Dancing mania (also known as dancing plague, choreomania, St John's Dance and, historically, St. Vitus' Dance) was a social phenomenon that occurred primarily in mainland Europe between the 14th and 17th centuries. It involved groups of people dancing erratically, sometimes thousands at a time.<br/><br/> The mania affected men, women, and children, who danced until they collapsed from exhaustion. One of the first major outbreaks was in Aachen, Germany, in 1374, and it quickly spread throughout Europe; one particularly notable outbreak occurred in Strasbourg in 1518, France.<br/><br/> Affecting thousands of people across several centuries, dancing mania was not an isolated event, and was well documented in contemporary reports. It was nevertheless poorly understood, and remedies were based on guesswork. Generally, musicians accompanied dancers, to help ward off the mania, but this tactic sometimes backfired by encouraging more to join in. There is no consensus among modern-day scholars as to the cause of dancing mania.
A highly decorative map of the East Indies from the Mercator-Hondius Atlas.<br/><br/> It extends from the Philippines to Timor and Sumatra to New Guinea, detailing the Spice Islands, a region of great importance to seventeenth century Europe, but one about which little was known at the time. Hondius based his map on portolan charts by Portuguese cartographer Bartolomeu Lasso. Of particular note is the comment Huc Franciscus Dra. Appulit, which appears by the unknown southern coast of Java, representing Drake's landing during his circumnavigation of the globe in 1577-80.<br/><br/> Of considerable contemporary relevance, the map also shows a highly stylised diagram of the Spratly Islands and perhaps the Paracels in the South China Sea, indicating ownership lying with Vietnam and Indochina, not - as vociferously claimed by the People's Republic - with China.<br/><br/> This map follows very shortly the extension of Dutch control over the islands. In 1602 the Dutch East India Company was formed, and within a couple decades the company came to control the region. Includes three strapwork cartouches, and European ships shown in the midst of battle. Other decorative features include two compass roses, rhumb lines and sea monster.
The Maluku Islands (also known as the Moluccas, Moluccan Islands and the Spice Islands) are an archipelago that is part of Indonesia, and part of the larger Maritime Southeast Asia region. Tectonically they are located on the Halmahera Plate within the Molucca Sea Collision Zone. Geographically they are located east of Sulawesi (Celebes), west of New Guinea, and north and east of Timor.<br/><br/> Most of the islands are mountainous, some with active volcanoes, and enjoy a wet climate. The vegetation of the small and narrow islands, encompassed by the sea, is very luxuriant; including rainforests, sago, rice and the famous spices - nutmeg, cloves and mace, among others.
Gerardus Mercator, a Flemish German (5 March 1512 – 2 December 1594) was a cartographer renowned for creating a world map based on a new projection which represented sailing courses of constant bearing as straight lines—an innovation that is still employed in nautical charts used for navigation.<br/><br/> Jodocus Hondius (Dutch name: Joost de Hondt) (1563 – 1612) was a Flemish engraver and cartographer. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
Jodocus Hondius (Dutch name: Joost de Hondt) (1563 – 1612) was a Flemish engraver and cartographer. He helped establish Amsterdam as the center of cartography in Europe in the 17th century.
Map of Guinea and surrounding regions by Jodocus Hondius (1625). 'Benin Regnu', the Benin Kingdom, is indicated in the south-east. Full page version headed: 'Black Christianitie, wicked sodomie'.
Map of Guinea and surrounding regions by Jodocus Hondius (1625). 'Benin Regnu', the Benin Kingdom, is indicated in the south-east.