Having already lost her 13 mainland colonies to the Americans in 1782 as a result of the Revolutionary war, Britain was left with her hugely valuable Caribbean colonies to the south. Bermuda was the perfect location from which to protect the trade lines from the Americans and other enemies.
This charming little survey has a good deal of information in common with the chart of Spanish Point to Bailys Bay (Heritage Charts A606)
The proximity of the Caribbean islands to mainland North America, along with the strength of trade between the two areas throughout the 18th century, meant that the two areas shared a very similar political ideology in the face of British economic and political policy.
That the 13 Caribbean colonies, who shared the same preconditions and grievances that had inspired their mainland counterparts to rebel in 1775, remained loyal to the British Crown was something of a miracle. Indeed, many of the Caribbean islands, along with Bermuda herself, had contributed both physically and economically to the revolutionary cause throughout the war, much to the consternation of the British.
By 1797, Lieutenant Thomas Hurd RN had already completed a definitive survey of the island but this was never published by the Admiralty for fear that the extensive hydrographic information it contained might fall into American hands. As a consequence small, localised, surveys such as this one were the order of the day.
The naval dockyard, along with the naval hospital, are shown on the chart but were still under construction in 1817 when this chart was completed. The survey also shows the northern coastline of Pembroke Parish along with part of Ireland Island to the north.
The coast of Pembroke was significant for the location of certain naval installations including the fresh-water wells. Pembroke was also, by 1817, the administrative center of the island with Admiralty House and Government House being located there.
The survey shows sounding which radiate out from a large vessel anchored off the coast toward the bays at Ducking Stool (immediately to the west of the Wells), Brackish Bay and the Wells themselves (which supplied the Navy with fresh water when there was no rainwater at the naval tanks at the dockyard) and to Harots Point to the east of the Wells. The soundings also show the depths to Harrington Point and the buoys in the harbour.
On an artistic note the charming title balloon gives the whole survey quite an artistic flavor. Also, great attention is given to the detail of the flags which are depicted on the anchored vessel, Admiralty House and Government House. Note that the latter two have been drawn upside-down on the chart so that they may be viewed as they would appear to an observer approaching from a ship in the bay.
This charming survey was made at a time when the British were starting to develop Bermuda as part of a master-plan to relocate their existing base of operations for the Royal Navy from Halifax, Nova Scotia. Having already lost her 13 mainland colonies to the Americans in 1782 as a result of the Revolutionary war, Britain was left with her hugely valuable Caribbean colonies to the south. Bermuda was the perfect location from which to protect the trade lines from the Americans and other enemies.
