This is a map that was produced by the English  cartographer John Speed (1552-1629) in the seventeenth  century. It is a very decorative and interesting map of North  and South America or what was known of the area at that  time. Speed is well known for his county maps of Great  Britian, but in his Prospect of the World he issued fine  maps of other parts of the globe, many of which were  decorated with illustrations of native costumes and principal  cities of the areas shown. This map of the western hemisphere is one of the most well known of this type, with views of eight cities in the Americans, as well as ten depictions of natives from the various regions.

This map would be great to display in any elementary, middle, or high school classroom learning about geography. I think students would find it fascinating to compare the seventeenth century map of North and South America with our maps of today. One of the most interesting aspects of the map is that it is unfinished because much of this region was part of the vast unknown.