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"The Bay of Acapulco forms the most beautiful port one can set eyes upon" - Nebel

An evocative lithograph by Carl Nebel, created in the 1830s, presents a striking view of Acapulco, one of Mexico’s most historically significant Pacific ports, nearly a century before it became a bustling playground for movie stars and everyday tourists. The image captures the bay with its dramatic coastal landscape, rolling waves, and ships at anchor, showing a sleepy town that was once a thriving commercial center that connected New Spain to Asia through the Manila Galleon trade. In the foreground, small boats navigate the waters, while the distant shoreline reveals a mix of tropical vegetation, modest dwellings, and the fortifications that once protected the harbor.

Carl Nebel (1805–1855) was a German artist and engineer known for his exceptional lithographic depictions of Mexico in the early post-independence era. His work is particularly valuable for its documentary precision, blending European artistic techniques with direct observations of Mexican landscapes, cities, and people. Nebel traveled extensively throughout Mexico in the 1820s and 1830s, publishing his renowned work Voyage pittoresque et archéologique dans la partie la plus intéressante du Méxique in 1836, from which the present view of Acapulco derives. Nebel's lithographs remain an important visual record of Mexico’s early national period.

During the first decades of the 19th century, Acapulco had already begun its decline as a major trade hub. Once the second-most important port of New Spain, its prominence was tied to the trans-Pacific commerce of the Manila Galleons, which brought silk, spices, porcelain, and other luxury goods from the Philippines. However, with Mexico’s independence in 1821 and the increasing shift of trade routes toward San Blas and Mazatlán, Acapulco's economic significance waned. By the 1830s, the port was largely bypassed by merchants seeking more efficient and less vulnerable trade routes. Despite this decline, its natural harbor remained one of the most picturesque in the Pacific, a quality Nebel masterfully conveys in this composition.

The artist himself described the port of Acapulco in the following words:

Second port of the Republic before Independence, due to its great trade with China. Now it is almost abandoned, as merchants find it more advantageous to bring their goods through San Blas and Mazatlán. The Bay of Acapulco forms the most beautiful port one can set eyes upon.

Segundo puerto de la Republica, antes de la Independencia, por su gran comercio con la China. Ahora está casi abandonado, encontrando los comerciantes más ventajas en introducir sus mercancías por San Blas y Mazatlán. La bahia de Acapulco forma el puerto más hermoso que pueda verse.

This lithograph captures the enduring beauty of Acapulco’s bay while reflecting the broader economic and geopolitical shifts that shaped 19th-century Mexico.