For nearly 200 years, European maps of the Americas showed something extraordinary: California as an island, detached from the mainland.
This cartographic error, perpetuated by some of the most respected mapmakers of the time, can be traced back to a single Catholic friar, Antonio de la Ascensión, whose influence reshaped how the New World was imagined.
Antonio de la Ascensión, a Carmelite friar and skilled cosmographer, accompanied Sebastián Vizcaíno on his 1602 expedition along the California coast. Entrusted with charting the journey, Ascensión’s maps and notes carried immense weight. In one of his sketches, he depicted California as an island, likely based on misinterpretations of the geography and the mythical tales of his time which described a fabled island of California.
This error might have faded into obscurity were it not for Dutch pirates who intercepted a Spanish ship carrying Ascensión’s map to Europe!
Coveted as state secrets, these charts were rare and highly prized. The map found its way to Amsterdam, where it inspired a series of influential Dutch and British cartographers to reproduce the image of California as an island. By 1622, it had become a widespread feature in European mapmaking.
The notion persisted for generations. Even when explorers disproved the island theory in the early 18th century, skepticism lingered. It wasn’t until 1747—more than 140 years after Ascensión’s initial map—that King Ferdinand VI of Spain issued a royal decree stating definitively that California is not an island.
Though his mistake led to one of cartography’s most enduring myths, his contributions as a chronicler and missionary reflect the Church’s rich legacy of intellectual and spiritual engagement with the natural world!
Photo credit: Public Domain via Wikimedia Commons
