This project catalogs maps of the Caribbean basin covering the periods of pre-encounter indigenous mapping traditions of Taíno and Carib natives, through European empire building, Afro-Caribbean and Asian-Caribbean contributions, to emergent nation-state construction.
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Plan de l’Ile a Vache & coste de St. Domingue de puis la pointe de l’Abacou iusquau cap de l’est d’Yaquin
[Bureau, Jacques (1669-1743)], “Plan de l'Ile a Vache & coste de St. Domingue de puis la pointe de l'Abacou iusquau cap de l'est d'Yaquin,” [1700?], French, ms., 50 x 76 cm, Library of Congress
This pictographic map of a part of the St. Domingue [now Haiti] south coast, was probably created in the late seventeenth or early eighteenth century.
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De Eylanden en Vastelanden van Westindien
Vinckeboons (Vingboons), Joan (Johannes) (1616–1670). De Eylanden en Vastelanden van Westindien, 1639?, Dutch, ms, 48 x 69 cm, Library of Congress
This early seventeenth-century map, rendered in pen-and-ink and watercolor, takes a Greater Caribbean perspective, ranging from Virginia in the north to the Yucatan Peninsula and to Guiana in the south. Vingboons produced a number of Caribbean maps.
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Gardalouppe
Champlain, Samuel de (1567-1635). “Gardalouppe” [Guadeloupe], [ca. 1602], French, ms, 12.5 x 17.9 cm, John Carter Brown Library.
In the early seventeenth century, Champlain was on his way to New France (Canada) and, like many other Europeans, took the southerly oceanic route and spent time touring the Caribbean. Despite his short stay on Guadeloupe, Champlain drew a recognizable map of the island.
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