Spanish Admiralty. Plano de las Yslas de Sta. Catalina y Providencia. 1809 [COLUMBIA, CARIBBEAN SEA]

Spanish Admiralty, 1809
Plano de las Yslas de Sta. Catalina y Providencia
From Portulano de la América Setentrional, Madrid, 1809
Hand-colored copperplate engraving
Sheet size: 11.25 x 15.5 inches

This detailed Spanish naval chart depicts the islands of Santa Catalina and Providencia, strategically significant outposts in the western Caribbean. Published by the Spanish Admiralty in Portulano de la América Setentrional, a rare and authoritative atlas of the era, it reflects Spain’s efforts to reinforce control over its maritime empire amid growing British naval threats and the onset of independence movements in Spanish America. As part of the Viceroyalty of New Granada (modern Colombia), these islands were contested by British privateers and the Miskito people despite Spanish rule. Featuring soundings, coastal profiles, and anchorage points, the map exemplifies early 19th-century Spanish cartography and the geopolitical tensions that shaped the region. A fine example of colonial-era maritime mapping, it holds particular interest for collectors of Caribbean and Spanish imperial history.