A very attractive portolan chart of the West Indies showing the Florida peninsula and the northern coastline of South America. The quality of the finish of this chart with its grey wash along the coastline amongst other features indicates that it was produced for someone of quality and not for everyday use at sea. Most portolan’s can be remarkable difficult to date, this one fortunately is not so hard. Following the American Revolutions the Spanish undertook a fresh survey of its waters in the Americas.

The chart records knowledge of the surveys undertaken by Jose de Evia’s of the West coast of Florida in 1786. Also the Ventura de Barcaizztegui and Jose del Rio Cosa survey of Cuba 1788-90. However it does not show awareness of the Cosme Churruca survey of the Windward Islands and Joaquin Francisco Fidalgo in the Leeward islands in 1794. There are significantly more toponyms on the island of Cuba than on earlier recorded manuscripts for example the Antonio de Mattos chart of 1745 in the Museo Naval in Madrid. There are 22 place names in Florida: Matans d. Tiscala (Fort Matanzas); C. Canberal (Cape Canaveral); Boca Ratones; Pa d’ Tancha (Cape Sable); Co. Romano; Bahia d. Cantos (Charlotte Harbour); Bahia d. Tampa. The coasts of South America and the Leeward and Windward Islands is more reminiscent of earlier cartography. This very fine example of a Spanish portolan shows knowledge of the American waters at an active period of surveying. The systematic surveying would culminate in the “Atlas de la America Septentrional” in 1801.