"Accurater Grund Riss von dem Hafen, der Stadt, u. den Forten vo Porto Belo...", Bodenehr, Gabriel

This rare chart depicts the Battle of Porto Bello (or Portobelo), a conflict between Britain and Spain during the War of Jenkins' Ear, part of the War of the Austrian Succession. Portobelo was a strategic Spanish transfer point for gold and silver coming from South America. After taking part in a failed attempt to capture a fully laden Spanish treasure ship departing from Portobelo in 1727, Vice Admiral Edward Vernon made claims that he could capture the historic port with just six ships. In November 1739, Vernon organized a squadron of six ships to capture the settlement. Due to strong easterly winds, Vernon was initially forced to focus his efforts on the harbor fort (here labeled Irou Castell). The British caught the Spanish off guard and quickly gained control, forcing the Spanish to surrender the fort. Subsequently, Vernon shifted his efforts to the town of Portobelo, resulting in Spanish surrender of the port. The capture of Portobelo was seen as a big triumph in Britain and America, and the names Portobelo and Vernon were used in commemoration (including Portobelo Road in London, the Portobelo district of Edinburgh, and Mount Vernon in Virginia, the home of George Washington). The British occupied Portobelo for only three weeks, destroying the fortress and key buildings before withdrawing.

This plan appears to be a reduced-sized edition of a Homann Heirs chart, which in turn was based on a larger chart drawn by Lieutenant Philip Durell and brought back to England by Captain James Rentone. The plan locates Irou Castell on the point, engulfed in smoke, with British warships firing upon the fort. The town of Portobelo is presented in a simple block pattern, with the fortified Castell Gloria adjacent to the town, and Spanish ships guarding the nearby waters. The surrounding countryside is filled with hills and vegetation. A compass rose in the center of the bay orients north to the bottom left of the chart.

This chart is very rare. It is not listed in Captain Kit Kapp's carto-bibliography of maps of Panama, and we were not able to find any other examples listed for sale in the last 40 years.

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Condition: A

A dark impression with light toning along the edges of the sheet.