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This is the first state of this extremely rare Revolutionary War era map of the the eastern part of the Caribbean, extending from the Virgin Islands to Tobago and the Gulf of Maricabo.
The map's maker, Mathew Richmond, likely is the same person who invented a Maritime Scale in 1786.
The map was issued shortly after the French and British Navies began to engage one another during the Revolution.
During 1778 and early 1779, the Caribbean was a major battleground in the conflict between Britain and France during the American Revolutionary War. Early in 1778, before France openly entered the war, French Foreign Minister Charles Gravier, Comte de Vergennes, authorized covert support for the American colonies. The French supplied arms, money, and goods through Martinique and Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti), which became vital supply points. This support was crucial because the American colonies struggled to obtain necessary military supplies due to British blockades.
On September 7, 1778, French forces led by François Claude Amour, Marquis de Bouillé, invaded Dominica. The French landed on the southeastern coast and quickly captured strategic positions, including high ground near the capital, Roseau. Dominica's defenses, left incomplete by Governor Thomas Shirley, fell rapidly, and Lieutenant Governor William Stuart surrendered. The capture of Dominica allowed France to consolidate its Caribbean holdings and denied the British a key base in the region.
In December 1778, the British, under Admiral Samuel Barrington, captured St. Lucia from the French. Despite a French counterattack led by Admiral Charles Hector, Comte d'Estaing, the British successfully defended their position, securing a strategic advantage in the Caribbean. In early 1779, the French continued to strengthen their positions, using Martinique as a base for operations and supply. American privateers, supported by French resources, targeted British shipping, further straining British naval resources.
On June 18, 1779, French forces captured St. Vincent with minimal resistance, exploiting the island's weak defenses. This success highlighted British vulnerabilities in the Caribbean and showcased the effectiveness of French naval strategy. By April, Admiral d'Estaing was threatening British positions in St. Kitts and Barbados, prompting Admiral John Byron to focus on protecting these key islands. Although no major battles occurred, the French presence in the region forced the British to divert significant naval resources to the Caribbean. On July 4, 1779, French forces captured Grenada after a brief battle. The British defenders, led by Governor Lord Macartney, were outnumbered and outgunned. The fall of Grenada, a major sugar-producing island, further weakened British control in the Caribbean.
By May 1, 1779, the Caribbean had become a critical theater in the broader conflict of the American Revolutionary War. French successes in capturing key islands and disrupting British shipping highlighted the strategic importance of the region and the effectiveness of French naval and military operations. Despite some victories, the British faced increasing challenges in maintaining their Caribbean empire amidst French and American privateering activities.
States of the Map & Rarity
The states of this map are complicated, in part because of the map's rarity and because of the curious blank space after Richmond's name in what we believe to be the first state of the map.
- State 1 (1779): Dated 1779. No list of colonial possessions below title. Richmond's address at No. 9 Bell's Building not yet added, with space left by the engraver.
- State 2 (1779): Dated 1779. Richmond's address at No. 9 Bell's Building added. List of Colonial Possessions below the title and note regarding the trade winds added.
- State 3 (1789): Dated 1789. Imprint changed. Faden & Richmond's names are removed and R[obert] Wilkinson's name added. List of Colonial Possessions below the title and note regarding the trade winds still present, unlike State 1.
All states of the map are extremely rare. We note a single example of the map offered for sale by Bernard Shapero in July 2007, priced at approximately $10,000.
The only known example of the first state is in the King George map collection (KTOP) at the British Library.
William Faden (1749-1836) was the most prominent London mapmaker and publisher of the late-eighteenth and early-nineteenth centuries. His father, William Mackfaden, was a printer who dropped the first part of his last name due to the Jacobite rising of 1745.
Apprenticed to an engraver in the Clothworkers' Company, he was made free of the Company in August of 1771. He entered into a partnership with the family of Thomas Jeffreys, a prolific and well-respected mapmaker who had recently died in 1771. This partnership lasted until 1776.
Also in 1776, Faden joined the Society of Civil Engineers, which later changed its name to the Smeatonian Society of Civil Engineers. The Smeatonians operated as an elite, yet practical, dining club and his membership led Faden to several engineering publications, including canal plans and plans of other new engineering projects.
Faden's star rose during the American Revolution, when he produced popular maps and atlases focused on the American colonies and the battles that raged within them. In 1783, just as the war ended, Faden inherited his father's estate, allowing him to fully control his business and expand it; in the same year he gained the title "Geographer in Ordinary to his Majesty."
Faden also commanded a large stock of British county maps, which made him attractive as a partner to the Ordnance Survey; he published the first Ordnance map in 1801, a map of Kent. The Admiralty also admired his work and acquired some of his plates which were re-issued as official naval charts.
Faden was renowned for his ingenuity as well as his business acumen. In 1796 he was awarded a gold medal by the Society of Arts. With his brother-in-law, the astronomer and painter John Russell, he created the first extant lunar globe.
After retiring in 1823 the lucrative business passed to James Wyld, a former apprentice. He died in Shepperton in 1826, leaving a large estate.
![Cuba Insula [with] Hispaniola Insula [with] Insula Jamaica [with] Ins. S. Ioannis [with] I.S. Margareta Cum Confiniis](https://storage.googleapis.com/raremaps/img/small/95802.jpg)
