What to do? He decided that a magnificent gift—a lavish map of the world—might maneuver him into the new king’s good graces. D’Annebault hired Pierre Desceliers, one of the best ...

Both maps reveal the great challenge the New World presented to mapmakers ... Photograph by AKG/Album The journeys of 15th- and 16th-century European explorers are depicted on Cantino’s map ...