The island of Tobago has a long history of conflict and this beautiful, previously unpublished chart from about 1700, contains many references to its history. The map depicts the inland territory as being wild, full of wild-life (boar or pigs and pigs are depicted) and bush. It also shows the region as being mountainous and uninhabited, although there was, likely, an indigenous population.
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Description
The island was first settled by Courtlanders (subjects of the Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth) in 1654 but was, over the next 200 years, coveted by the Dutch, English, Swedish and the French for it's rich resources which included sugar, tobacco, coffee, cotton, ginger, indigo, rum, cocoa, tortoise shells, tropical birds and their feathers. Indeed, the island changed hands no less than 33 times in the 300 years since the British had first put foot on the Island up until it finally became (along with neighboring Trinidad) a British Crown Colony in 1889.
The chart makes limited reference to the island's history although the inclusion of several references to the Courtland settlers such as Courtland Bay, and the forts and settlements located at James Bay, Angels Bay, 'Coerns Palmet' harbor, the 'Old Quarter' and 'Barter Pointz' Bay. Luggarts Bay is the Dutch name for Minister Bay. Of note is the inclusion of the 'Rasp House' to the north of the Island [1].
Although there is no record of Captain Thomas Spencer in the British records there was an American Captain Thomas Spencer (1664-1708) who resided in King William County Virginia. The compass rose drawn on the bottom of the chart is not typical of British work and it may therefore be the work of Nicholas Benoist the co-author who was likely French and possibly a member of the De La Salle family based in Louisiana, working for the French government.
[1]. A rasp house is a place where wood is dressed or reduced to powder by rasping, for use in dyeing. It was, alternatively, known as a house of correction in Holland and Germany where prisoners rasped wood to powder for dyeing
Thomas Spencer & Nicholas Benoist
The island of Tobago has a long history of conflict and this beautiful, previously unpublished chart from about 1700, contains many references to its history. The map depicts the inland territory as being wild, full of wild-life (boar or pigs and pigs are depicted) and bush. It also shows the region as being mountainous and uninhabited, although there was, likely, an indigenous population.
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