"Carte de la Mer du Sud ou Mer Pacifique... / Kaart van de Zuyd-Zee of Stille Oceaan...", Anson, George

This version of the chart was issued in the French and Dutch editions of Anson's A Voyage Round the World. Joined on two sheets, it details the route of Spanish galleons between the Philippines and Acapulco. The tracks of British Navy Commodore George Anson and Spanish Nostra Seigniora de Cabadonga are shown. A somewhat speculative depiction of the islands of Japan is shown at top left. This chart appeared in Anson's account of his circumnavigation, compiled by Richard Walter and Benjamin Robbins, and first published in 1748.

In 1740 Anson set sail in command of a squadron sent to attack Spanish possessions and interests in South America. The expedition was ill-equipped and failed to carry out its original ambitious mission. By June 1741, when Anson reached Juan Fernandes, his force had been reduced to only three of the original six ships, while the strength of his crews had fallen from 961 to 335. After recuperating on the island, he collected the remaining survivors on his flagship, the Centurion, and set sail in search of one of the richly laden galleons that conducted the trade between Mexico and the Philippines. The indomitable perseverance he had shown during one of the most arduous voyages in the history of sea adventure gained the reward of the capture of an immensely rich prize, the Nuestra Senora de Cabadonga, which he encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on June 20, 1743.

References: Mercator's World (Nov/Dec 1998) p. 47; cf. Shirley (BL Atlases) G.ANS-1a #13.

Condition: B+

Issued folding with light scattered foxing and several tiny worm holes and tracks along the horizontal fold that have been backed on verso with old paper.