Portolan Chart of the Carribean

Pedro Alcantara Espinosa
Caribbean, Gulf of Mexico, West Indies, Campeche, Mexico, 1765
Five-sided portolan chart on vellum
Geography & Map Division
Acquired, 1919 (19.4)

This chart, drawn in the portolan style on vellum, includes the Gulf and southeastern Atlantic coasts of the present-day U.S., extending north beyond Cape Hatteras. Latitude, is indicated along a vertical line that extends from south to north on the left side of the chart. Longitude is indicated along two lines, one extending west across the Gulf of Mexico and the other going east from latitude 31 N. The chart identifies numerous costal names, most of which are written portolan-style inward from the coast.