The Atlas do Visconde de Santarém known sometimes in English as the Viscount of Santarém's world atlas, is an important compendium lithographic reproductions of medieval European maps and navigation charts.
There were three editions, all published in Paris: 1841, 1842-1844 with far fewer plates, and in 1849, the third edition and considered to be the best. This edition contains 145 maps on 77 plates, arranged in 4 parts.
Biographical
Manuel Francisco de Barros e Sousa de Mesquita de Macedo Leitão e Carvalhosa, second Viscount de Santarem, was born in Lisbon on 18 November 1791, the son of a prominent Portuguese nobleman. A staunch supporter of the monarchy he was, when still youthful, appointed Garda-Mor (state archivist) of the royal archives at the Torre do Tombo in Lisbon, and in 1827 even became Minister of the Interior and of Marine and Overseas Territories; he was to held neither of the two posts for a long time. A convinced Miguelist, he was, in consequence of political events, in 1833 relieved from his function as royal archivist, was forced to leave the country and finally settled down in Paris from which city - although he was rehabilitated later and in 1842 even restored in his function of Garda-Mor - he never returned to Portugal, spending the rest of his life in exile. In Paris he devoted himself entirely to historical and cartographical studies, especially with regard to the history of discovery and the role played therein by Portugal. Numerous publications resulted from this activity, among them first and foremost his 'Essai sur I'Histoire de la Cosmographie et de la Cartographie pendant le Moyen-âge' (1849–1852) and the famous accompanying 'Atlas composé de Mappemondes, de Portulans et de cartes hydrographiques et historiques depuis le VIe jusq’au XVIIe siècle…' He lived for many years in his house in the Rue Blanche 47 en died there from tuberculosis on 17 January 1856.
As a statesman Santarem may have been anything but a success, as a man of science he has rendered his country and the science of historical cartography many and important services; it was in fact he who coined the term of 'cartography' and who gave historical cartography a sound scientific basis. The constitutional Portuguese government, with whom he - in spite of his absolutistic inclinations - was on very good terms, repeatedly called in his collaboration and his knowledge of the history of cartography and discovery whenever there arose conflicts with other powers regarding Portugal's claims to territories in Africa. The Government even supported financially - although in an insufficient measure - the publication of his works and especially of the 'Atlas', which was beset with many financial problems, and which he, at the end of his life, considered to be far from accomplished. Also his 'Essai' has remained a 'torso': of the six volumes he planned to compile only three were actually published, extending only to the 15th century. This is the more to be regretted as now a number of the maps and charts in it which he intended to discuss in the remaining volumes, now figure in the 'Atlas' without any commentary. Santarem himself had reported in 1855 that Volume IV was 'all written and ready for the printer'. After his death early in 1856 the Secretary of the Academia Real de Ciências de Lisboa was in 1857 entrusted with the task of seeing Vol. IV through the press and preparing the manuscripts of the remaining volumes for publication, but 'although the man was well-paid during three years for the work expected from him, nothing was published and, still worse, Santarem's original text went astray and could never been found again'[1].
Santarem's best and most detailed biographer is doubtless Jordão A. de Freitas[2] whose book, however, is written in Portuguese and therefore rather difficult to access. The same disadvantage applies to the chapter devoted to Santarem by Arman do Cortesão in his work on Portuguese cartographers and cartography[3].In the latter's 'History of Portuguese Cartography[3] written in English, however, an excellent account is given of Santarem's life and work[4]. The short biographical note given here is largely based on this text.
In 1985 a facsimile edition of the third and last edition (1849) of his ‘Atlas’ was published by Rudolf Muller, bookseller and publisher in Amsterdam (The Netherlands).
There is now, available in English, a biographical and bibliographical text about Visconde de Santarém in Dicionário de Historiadores Portugueses (Dictionary of Portuguese Historians), written by Daniel Estudante Protásio, a Portuguese researcher who has studied the life and works of Santarém since 1994 [5]. Other texts written by Protásio in Portuguese can also be downloaded at his personal page at Academia.edu [6]