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Sailing Chart of Central America During the California Gold Rush
This detailed mid-19th century sea chart of the west coast of Central America was compiled from multiple sources, beginning with the Spanish surveys such as those conducted during the Malaspina Expedition (1789–1794), as provided by Felipe Bauzá, a prominent Spanish hydrographer and cartographer.
The map illustrates the coastline from Mexico’s Isthmus of Tehuantepec down to Costa Rica, showing navigational features essential for maritime travel. Coastal soundings, anchorages, and prominent capes are depicted, making the map a valuable resource for sailors and explorers during the period.
The map includes several detailed inset maps of key ports and coastal areas, highlighting important harbors and navigational points. These insets include:
- Ventosa, Tehuantepec Road (from a Spanish manuscript, 1794)
- Salinas Bay (surveyed by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, 1838)
- Port Guatulco (surveyed by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, 1838)
- Sonsonate Road (from a Spanish manuscript, 1794)
- Port Culebra (surveyed by Captain Sir Edward Belcher, 1838)
- Port del Triunfo de los Libres (commonly called Puerto Jiquilisco), drawn from a manuscript provided by Colonel Juan Galindo
Each of these inset maps provides depth soundings, coastal topography, and navigational hazards, which were essential for sailors seeking safe harbors along the Pacific coast of Central America.
This sea chart was produced during a critical period of global exploration and commerce, particularly in the context of the California Gold Rush (1848–1855). With the discovery of gold in California, there was a massive influx of prospectors, merchants, and settlers traveling from the east coast of the United States to California. However, the overland journey across the Rocky Mountains and Great Plains was arduous and dangerous, leading to an urgent search for faster transit routes across Central America.
The Panama and Darien regions were prime candidates for an interoceanic canal or railway, as they offered some of the narrowest land passages between the Atlantic and Pacific Oceans. This map, with its detailed depiction of coastal features, likely served as a navigational aid for ships bringing passengers and cargo to transit points in Central America.
Additionally, the Isthmus of Tehuantepec in Mexico and Nicaragua’s Lake Nicaragua and San Juan River system were also being explored as possible transit routes. The inclusion of ports such as Guatulco, Sonsonate, and Culebra underscores the growing interest in harbor facilities that could support transit operations between the oceans.
Rarity
The chart is rare on the market.
Most examples were used at sea and did not survive in such nice condition.
The British Admiralty has produced nautical charts since 1795 under the auspices of the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office (HO). Its main task was to provide the Royal Navy with navigational products and service, but since 1821 it has also sold charts to the public.
In 1795, King George III appointed Alexander Dalrymple, a pedantic geographer, to consolidate, catalogue, and improve the Royal Navy’s charts. He produced the first chart as the Hydrographer to the Admiralty in 1802. Dalrymple, known for his sticky personality, served until his death in 1808, when he was succeeded by Captain Thomas Hurd. The HO has been run by naval officers ever since.
Hurd professionalized the office and increased its efficiency. He was succeeded by the Arctic explorer Captain William Parry in 1823. By 1825, the HO was offering over seven hundred charts and views for sale. Under Parry, the HO also began to participate in exploratory expeditions. The first was a joint French-Spanish-British trip to the South Atlantic, a voyage organized in part by the Royal Society of London.
In 1829, Rear-Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort was appointed Hydrographer Royal. Under his management, the HO introduced the wind force scale named for him, as well as began issuing official tide tables (1833). It was under Beaufort that HMS Beagle completed several surveying missions, including its most famous voyage commanded by Captain FitzRoy with Charles Darwin onboard. When Beaufort retired in 1855, the HO had nearly two thousand charts in its catalog.
Later in the nineteenth century, the HO supported the Challenger expedition, which is credited with helping to found the discipline of oceanography. The HO participated in the International Meridian Conference which decided on the Greenwich Meridian as the Prime Meridian. Regulation and standardization of oceanic and navigational measures continued into the twentieth century, with the HO participating at the first International Hydrographic Organization meeting in 1921.
During World War II, the HO chart making facility moved to Taunton, the first purpose-built building it ever inhabited. In 1953, the first purpose-built survey ship went to sea, the HMS Vidal. Today, there is an entire class of survey vessels that make up the Royal Navy’s Hydrographic Squadron. The HO began to computerize their charts in the late 1960s and early 1970s. In 1968, the compilation staff also came to Taunton, and the HO continues to work from there today.
![[Central America]](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/77960.jpg)
