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Ferdinand Konščak – Cartograper of the Compañia de Jesús and his Maps of Baja California

Ferdinand Konšćak (Fernando Consag) was a Croatian Jesuits and a missionary who carried out the exploration of Baja California according to the order of Compañia de Jesús. In 1730 he was assigned to the missionaries in Baja California, where he worked until his death. During his missionary work, he made three major research expeditions (1746, 1751, 1754) and made at least two maps of Baja California. His diaries from the first and second trips, in which he gave descriptions of the terrain and the people of Baja California, were published during his lifetime and have been enjoyed even after his death in several editions and in various languages. His map, “Seño de California y su costa oriental, ” played a special role after the existence of a California peninsula was officially accepted. Although F. E. Kino and J. de Ugarte had claimed this on their own maps before him, the official position of the Spanish government changed after Konšćak's research. In this paper we will present the original versions of Konšćak's maps of California and later redactions of the same maps on which Ferdinand Konšćak is listed as the author. With their comparisons with later maps based on Konšćak's template, we will assess his contribution to the cartographic and geographic knowledge of Baja California.

Ferdinand Konščak, California, 18 Century, missionary cartography

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