The Evolution of Maps Produced by Adam Gilg Between 1688–93: A Case-Study on the Production and Circulation of Jesuit Geographical Knowledge of Sonora

Abstract

The article investigates the progress in the geographical knowledge of Sonora based on explorations by Adam Gilg, a Moravian Jesuit in Spanish service. Gilg spent eighteen years (1688–1710) at the northern frontier of New Spain, where he worked as a missionary among the Seri (Comcáac) and Pima (O’odham) peoples. In the period between 1688 and 1693, Gilg drafted three maps of Sonora that represent three stages in proselytization efforts and European geographical knowledge of Sonora. The comparative analysis of these maps makes an interesting case study of how a map, once compiled, was updated and corrected in accordance with new data subsequently collected. It also illustrates the interaction and knowledge exchange between Jesuits serving in the region (Eusebio Kino, Marcus Kappus) and the local Native Nations, the Seris and the Pimas.