Interesting Map - 1732 Possible Guide for Pirates?

[MPH200]

To His Grace Hugh, Lord Archbishop of Armagh, Primate and Metropolitan of all Ireland and One of the Lords Justices of the said Kingdom this map of North America According to the Newest and most Exact Observations is most humbly Dedicated by your Gra



Much like Moll’s map of the West Indies, this map can also be understood as a guide to english piracy and privateering in the Americas. Moll, most likely through his acquaintance with the 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 provisioned 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, where the most nefarious pirates lay in wait for their prey. In addition to descriptions of the sailing routes and currents, Moll provides insets of six important treasure ports, including Port Royal, Veracruz, Havana, Porto Bella, and Cartagena. As privateer fleets grew in strength and number in the early 18th century full scale assaults on major ports became increasingly common. Moll's choice of these key treasure ports leaves little doubt regarding his intentions and sources.

 

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[grossmusic]

Nice find & good interpretation.

Don't forget there are two fleets: Tierra Firme ("Galions") & Nueva Espana (Flota), so those are separate treasure routes on the map, not one big one. Tierra Firme covered a lot of territory from the Lesser Antilles to Cartagena, spreading themselves thin by splitting up (I think!) with a few galleons going to Portobelo for the Fair (& waiting for Manilas that delivered in Panama for the mule trains) then all going up to Havana. The Nueva Espana seemed to have a cushy job, just going to Veracruz to collect other Manila shipments, then up to Havana from there where both fleets would usually become one fleet (though in some years they traveled completely separately). It's probable that the Nueva Espana also sent a ship or two down to Portobelo for the Fair some years to trade & load up before going to Havana.

In 1715, due to war & delays & other political issues, the Nueva Espana was especially heavy laden while the Tierra Firme, which should have had lots more treasure, had quite a bit less, though perhaps deemed "more important" as it carried the king's treasury.

In some other thread here an old document shows that without this map there was some confusion (by Spanish design) about the routes, because at least one governor thought the galleons were at the end of their voyage moving eastward & up to Spain, when in fact they were likely simply sending out satellite vessels at the start of their journey to trade with and invite trusted island merchants to the Fair in Portobelo all while they moved westward.

But this map does seem to represent the actual movement as well as the general understanding of the more tuned-in governors such as Hamilton in Jamaica. And I would guess that this map is from 1720 (not 1718) since Hispaniola is so well labeled. I'm no expert, but it seems in 1718 it would have still been less charted. Just a guess.

PS: I would take issue with calling Dampier or Rogers "pirates" as they acted under government blessing as "privateers" during war & of course Rogers is credited to this day for suppressing & ousting pirates from the Bahamas. Of course it could be argued that he did so successfully because of his keen understanding of the pirate psyche.