Het eiland Mocha in Chili, 1600 1601 - 1646

This engraving of Mocha Island in Chile was made around 1600 by Baptista van Doetechum. The orderly arrangement of fields and structures is striking, almost like a chessboard. The depiction of cultivated land, with rows of crops, is evocative. This image is less about geographical accuracy and more about projecting European ideas of order and civilization onto a new land. These meticulously arranged fields can be seen throughout history. In ancient Egypt, the grid-like layouts were associated with royal power and the Nile's life-giving waters. In the Roman Empire, the 'centuriatio' system divided conquered lands into squares, imposing Roman order and control. In a way, these neat arrangements of land reflect a deep, perhaps subconscious, human desire to impose order on the chaos of the natural world. They represent a sense of control and mastery, and are also a way of laying claim to territory, both physically and symbolically. This engraving, then, serves as a cultural mirror, reflecting the long-standing human impulse to shape and control the environment.