Shanhai Yudi Quantu - Description - Magallania

Magallania

The still-uncertain Terra Australis – today Australia, Antarctica, New Zealand, and other islands – is marked phonetically as 墨瓦臘泥加 ( Mòwǎlàníjiā, Mokngwalapneka). This transliterates the name "Magallanica", a name given to the prospective continent at the time in honor of Ferdinand Magellan, who had crossed past Tierra del Fuego and shown the southern continent (hypothesized since Ptolemy) to be separate from South America.

The map notes how little is known about this continent – "Few have reached these southern regions. Things are not explored yet" (此南方地人至者少, 未審其物) – and then ironically proceeds to include more placenames than Africa, America, or Europe:

  • "White Peak" (白峯, Bái Fēng)
  • "Great River" (大江, Dà Jiāng)
  • Tierra del Fuego (火地, Huǒdì "Place of Fire")
  • Antarctica (南極界, Nánjíjiè, "Antarctic Region")
  • New Guinea (新入匿, Xīn Rùnì)
  • "Place of Parrots" (鸚哥地, generally taken as Australia from a later name but originally referring to a location south of Africa, possibly Madagascar)

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