. English: One of the most remarkable and intriguing maps of the West Indies to appear in the 18th century. This is Herman Moll's superb circa 1720 mapping of the West Indies, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and the Spanish Main. Monumental in proportion, rich in descriptive text, and exhaustive it its attention to detail, this map is best understood as a guide to English piracy and privateering in the West Indies. Moll, most likely through his acquaintance with pirates William Dampier and Woodes Rogers, offers a wealth of information on the traffic of silver bearing Spanish treasure fleet
. English: One of the most remarkable and intriguing maps of the West Indies to appear in the 18th century. This is Herman Moll's superb circa 1720 mapping of the West Indies, Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, Mexico, and the Spanish Main. Monumental in proportion, rich in descriptive text, and exhaustive it its attention to detail, this map is best understood as a guide to English piracy and privateering in the West Indies. Moll, most likely through his acquaintance with pirates William Dampier and Woodes Rogers, offers a wealth of information on the traffic of silver bearing Spanish treasure fleets en route from the Mexican port of Veracruz, through the islands, to Spanish ports in Europe. Following the dotted line, Moll identifies the Spanish treasure fleet's entrada into the Caribbean via the passage between Granada and Trinidad. The fleet then sailed westwards, skirting the Spanish Main until they reached Cartagena, where they rested and reprovisioned before heading northwards, rounding western Cuba and stopping in Havana. Using the strong Gulf Stream current - shown here - ships would sail northwards from Havana while being steadily forced to the southeast thus alighting at the deep water port of Veracruz. On the return, laden with silver from the mines of San Luis Potosi, the Spanish fleet took advantage of eastward blowing trade winds, which helped to overcome the strong current on the sail to Havana. From Havana they would travel northwards via the narrow passage between Florida and the Bahamas before cutting eastward and out to sea at St. Augustine. It was here, in this crucial passage between the English dominated Bahamas and Spanish Florida, that the most nefarious pirates lay in wait for their prey. In addition to descriptions of the sailing routes and currents, Moll provides insets of five important Spanish ports, including St. Augustine, Veracruz, Havana, Porto Bella, and Cartagena. As privateer fleets grew in strength and number in the early 18th century f
Size: 2923px × 1709px
Photo credit: © The Picture Art Collection / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
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