User:TinBoxGallery/Velarde map

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Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas (Spanish, lit. "Hydrographical and Chorographical Chart of the Philippine Islands"), more commonly known as the Velarde map, is a map of the Philippines made and first published in Manila in 1734 by the Jesuit cartographer Pedro Murillo Velarde, the engraver Nicolás de la Cruz Bagay, and the artist Francisco Suárez. The World Digital Library describes it as the "first and most important scientific map of the Philippines". It is frequently referred to as the "Mother of all Philippine Maps". During the British occupation of Manila, the copper plates used to print the map were seized and transported to England, where they were used to produce multiple copies of the map before the plates were destroyed and reused. Many of the most famous and expensive copies were from this re-printing.

South China Sea disputes [edit]
The Murillo Velarde map has been instrumental in the Philippines' efforts to assert territorial rights in the South China Sea. The map, along with 270 other maps, was used by the Philippines' team of experts to refute China's historic claim of ownership of the entire South China Sea, as it features Scarborough Shoal then labelled as "Panacot" as well as "Los Bajos de Paragua", now known as the Spratly Islands. In 2016, the Permanent Court of Arbitration ruled in favor of the Philippines stating that China had "no historical rights" based on their nine-dash line map. China however, rejected the ruling, and former Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte opted to set aside the ruling of the court, citing his interest in improving relations between the Philippines and China.