Captain Joseph Smith Speer was an English mariner who served 21 years on the Mosquito (Miskito) Coast in what is now Nicaragua. He later created detailed maps of the West Indies based on his first-hand knowledge of the region. In 1766 he published <em>The West-India Pilot</em> containing 13 maps, followed by an enlarged edition with 26 maps in 1771. <em>A General Chart of the West Indies</em>, shown here, is a large, detailed map (71 by 117 centimeters). It is based on an earlier map from 1774, “with Additions from the latest Navigators.” English, French, Spanish, Dutch, and Danish territories are listed and coded with different colors. The United States, shown in green, does not yet include Florida or any territory west of the Mississippi.
<br>Caribbean Area; West Indies
Speer, Joseph Smith
4 June 1796<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1796-06-04T00:00:00Z/11</div>
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<ul><li>Gallery: <a rel="nofollow" class="external free" href="http://www.wdl.org/en/item/21/">http://www.wdl.org/en/item/21/</a></li></ul>