Claes Jansz. Visscher, 1609.

The Leo Belgicus, Latin for Belgian Lion or Dutch Lion (see below), is a map of the Low Countries (the Netherlands and Belgium) drawn in the shape of a lion. Image File history File links Leo_belgicus. ... Image File history File links Leo_belgicus. ... The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ...

The earliest Leo Belgicus was drawn by the Austrian cartographer Michael Aitzinger in 1583, when the Netherlands were fighting the Eighty Years' War for independence. The motif was inspired by the heraldic figure of the lion, occurring in the coats of arms of several of the Dutch provinces, as well as in those of William of Orange. Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ... Combatants Dutch rebels Spanish Empire The Eighty Years War, or Dutch Revolt (1568[1]–1648), was the revolt of the Seventeen Provinces in the Netherlands against the Spanish (Habsburg) Empire. ... William I (William the Silent) William I of Orange-Nassau (April 24, 1533 – July 10, 1584), also widely known as William the Silent [Dutch: Willem de Zwijger], was born in the House of Nassau, and became Prince of Orange in 1544. ...

Aitzinger's map was the first of many. There were three different designs. In the most common one, the lion's head located was in the northeast of the country and the tail in the southeast. The most famous version is that of Claes Janszoon Visscher, which was published in 1609 on the occasion of the Twelve Years' Truce. A less common design reversed the position of the lion, as shown in the Leo Belgicus by Jodocus Hondius. // Events April 4 – King of Spain signs an edit of expulsion of all moriscos from Spain April 9 – Spain recognizes Dutch independence May 23 - Official ratification of the Second Charter of Virginia. ... A cease fire made at the end of the Dutch revolt war that lasted for twelve years. ... Jodocus Hondius on an engraving of the year 1619 Jodocus Hondius (1563-1611), sometimes called Jodocus Hondius the Elder to distinguish him from his son) was a Flemish artist, engraver, and cartographer. ...

Jodocus Hondius, 1611

The third version was published in the later stages of the war, and after the independence of the Dutch Republic was confirmed in the Peace of Westphalia (1648). It is called the Leo Hollandicus, the Holland Lion, and shows only the province of Holland. One of the earliest versions was published by Visscher around 1625. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2496x1920, 1161 KB) Leo Belgicus - map of the Low Countries (1611) - Large version Hondius, Jodocus, Leo Belgicus. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (2496x1920, 1161 KB) Leo Belgicus - map of the Low Countries (1611) - Large version Hondius, Jodocus, Leo Belgicus. ... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ... The Ratification of the Treaty of Münster by Gerard Terborch (1648) Banquet of the Amsterdam Civic Guard in Celebration of the Peace of Münster by Bartholomeus van der Helst, 1648 The Peace of Westphalia, also known as the Treaties of Münster and Osnabrück, refers to the...

Leo Hollandicus, Claes Jansz. Visscher, 1648

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Note on the name "Leo Belgicus"

Although the name "Belgica" is now reserved for the Southern Netherlands ("Belgium"), before the division of the Low Countries into a southern and a northern half in the 16th century, the name referred to the entire Low Countries, and was the usual Latin translation of "the Netherlands" (which name then covered the current territory of both the Netherlands and Belgium). For example, several contemporary maps of the Dutch Republic, which consisted of the Northern Netherlands, and therefore has almost no intersection with the country of Belgium, show the Latin title Belgium Foederatum.^[1] The Low Countries, the historical region of de Nederlanden, are the countries (see Country) on low-lying land around the delta of the Rhine, Scheldt, and Meuse (Maas) rivers. ... Map of Dutch Republic by Joannes Janssonius United Netherlands redirects here. ...

References

1. ^ For example, the map "Belgium Foederatum" by Matthaeus Seutter, from 1745, which show the current Netherlands.[1]

External links

• Several versions of the map, Leiden University