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Description

Rare chart of Texas, the Gulf Coast, Florida, and the western Caribbean, including the Cayman Islands, Jamaica and Cuba.

This rare chart is based upon earlier Spanish sources and names the Provincia de los Tejas. Remarkable detail along the Texas, Louisiana, Alabama and Florida coastines.

Spanish Sea Charts of this region are quite scarce on the market, especially those identifying Texas during the Republic Period.

Condition Description
Minor soiling. Repaired tear at left side of image.
Direccion Hidrografica de Madrid Biography

The Dirección de Hidrografía, or the Directorate of Hydrographic Works, was established in 1797. Its roots were in the Casa de Contratación, founded in 1503 in Sevilla, which housed all the charts of the Spanish Empire and oversaw the creation and maintenance of the padrón real, the official master chart. The Casa, now in Cadiz, was shuttered in 1790, but Spain still needed a hydrographic body. In response, the Dirección was created in 1797. One of its first projects was the publication of charts from the Malaspina Expedition (1789-1794). The Dirección oversaw not only publication, but also surveying. The Dirección was abolished in the early twentieth century, when their work was distributed to other organizations.