ISLAS FANTÁSTICAS DE LA MAR DEL SUR. LAS GALÁPAGOS Y LAS SALMÓN EN LA CARTOGRAFÍA IMPERIAL

Those pieces of fantasy surrounded by sea, called islands, have been the longing of every pathfinder. This article seeks, from a connected history perspective, to review some atlases and imperial maps from the second half of the 16th century, which register the Galapagos, the Solomon Islands and other conjectured islands located near parallel 0, in the Pacific maritime corridor that leads to the Moluccas. These are islands that, although they seem remote, distant and unconnected, have some similarities, especially if they are studied from the perspective of the circulation of geographic information. The islands were geostrategic nodes and their registry in maps evidences the circulation of information through official, but also unofficial means. The presence of these islands on the official maps could be understood as the result of the construction of the transpacific imperial imaginary. The maps, however official, did not escape speculation about possible fantasy islands, full of resources. However, this was also a way of doing science in the 16th century.