The Caribbean from Barbados to the Gulf of Mexico

Title Leupe: De Carybsche Eilanden, van de Barbados tot de Bocht van Mexico enz.

This map is part of Colom’s Zee Atlas chartbook. While preceded by Joannes Janssonius' Atlas Maritimus, Colom was the first to compile charts with a coherent style printed on sizeable maps which incorporated information gained from Spanish, French and English cartography. Unfortunately, the sheer scale of the atlas did not help in making it a popular commodity. Subsequent prints of the atlas opted for a smaller format and cut parts of the plates to achieve this.

This map provides a wealth of detail on Caribbean ports and uses rhumb lines and dotted indications of shallows to guide those seeking to sail these seas. Notes are given on the top left and right in English and Dutch on how to cross the Bermuda and Bahamas specifically.

Scale-bar of 120 German miles = 127 ‘strepen’.