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Description

Scarce Spanish Sea Chart of the Region between the Cayman Islands and Jamaica in the north, extending south to Panama and Costa Rica.

Includes relatively large depiction of Grand Cayman Islands, with 7 place names, shoals and soundings.

Working Spanish Sea Charts of regions in North America are scarce on the market.

Condition Description
Minor discoloration at centerfold.
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.