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The First Separate British Chart of the Falklands.
Issued Immediately Before the Falklands Crisis of 1770.
This is the first separately published English chart dedicated to the Falkland Islands, printed in London by Carington Bowles on 1 January 1770. Issued at the height of Anglo-Spanish tensions over the British presence at Port Egmont, the map reflects the most up-to-date British hydrographic knowledge of the archipelago, drawn primarily from surveys conducted during Commodore John Byron’s 1764–66 expedition and other Royal Navy voyages in the region, including those of the Dolphin and Tamar.
The map presents a detailed depiction of the coasts, harbors, and sailing channels of both East and West Falkland, as well as the outlying islands. Soundings, anchorages, and navigation routes are carefully noted, especially in the waters around Falkland Sound. The surrounding smaller islands, including Saunders’s Island, French Island, and the Jasons (here labeled "Sebald de Waerts or Jasons Islands"), are also shown. Notably, the map includes a series of coastal elevation profiles across the top margin, illustrating different views of the Jason Islands from sea, an important aid for navigators approaching landfall through the South Atlantic fog. ("A View of the Sebaldine latterly called Jasons Islands.")
Place names capture the layered history of territorial claims: “Port Louis” (from Bougainville’s short-lived French colony), “Jasons Town” (the first British outpost), and “French Island” in the south.
The imprint reads: Publish’d as the Act directs, 1st Jan. 1770. Printed for Carington Bowles, No. 69 in St. Pauls Church Yard, London. This identifies the map as predating Spain’s seizure of Port Egmont in June 1770.
Rarity
Rare in the market.
