1744 Bowen and Cowley Map of the Galapagos Islands

One of the earlist obtainalbe maps of the Galapagos.

This 1744 Emmanuel Bowen map of the Galápagos Islands is one of the earliest specific maps of the remote archipelago, later made famous by Charles Darwin and the voyage of HMS Beagle. Based on 1683 survey work by Captain William Ambrose Cowley, this is the first substantial English mapping of the Galápagos. This map represents a critical stage in the cartographic history of the Galápagos, being the definitive cartography of the islands until Darwin and FitzRoy's 1835 voyage.

A Closer Look

The map is attributed to Captain William Ambrose Cowley, who visited the Galápagos Islands aboard the English privateering vessel Bachelor's Delight in 1683. Although the map credits Cowley with discovering the islands, the Spanish had known the Galápagos since at least 1535. Cowley's importance lies instead in producing the first substantial English survey of the archipelago.

The crew of the Bachelor's Delight included several notable privateers, among them William Dampier, Lionel Wafer, Edward Davis, and Cowley himself. During their visit, Cowley charted the islands and produced the cartography represented here. Although geographically imperfect, his map established the recognizable outlines and relative positions of many of the principal islands.

Cowley also replaced the existing Spanish names with English ones honoring prominent British figures: Fernandina became Narborough Island, Isabela became the Duke of Albemarle's Island, Santiago became King James Island (Santiago itself being the Spanish form of James), and Santa Cruz became the Duke of Norfolk's Island, among others. Cowley's wholesale replacement of the established Spanish nomenclature with names honoring the English Crown and aristocracy did not constitute a formal British territorial claim. It nonetheless amounted to a striking cartographic appropriation of the archipelago at a time when English privateers were challenging Spanish supremacy in the Pacific. His nomenclature proved remarkably enduring and was reinforced by later British hydrography.

Despite its inaccuracies, Cowley's chart remained the most important map of the Galápagos for more than a century, until improved surveys by Captain James Colnett and cartography published by Aaron Arrowsmith appeared at the end of the 18th century. The islands subsequently assumed extraordinary scientific importance following Charles Darwin's 1835 visit aboard HMS Beagle, when his observations of their distinctive flora and fauna contributed to the development of his ideas on evolution by natural selection. The Beagle expedition, commanded by Captain Robert FitzRoy, produced far more rigorous hydrographic surveys of the archipelago, ultimately allowing the British Admiralty to publish the first truly accurate modern charts of the Galápagos.

Below the map is text describing the naming of the islands and offering an anecdote regarding the privateer Woodes Rogers' criticism of Edward Davis' account of the islands. Apparently, Rogers was unable to find water despite the success of earlier navigators - more a criticism of Rogers than the islands.

Publication History and Census

This map was drawn and engraved by Emmanuel Bowen and published in John Harris's 1744 Navigantium Atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca…. This work is one of the most ambitious English geographical and voyage compilations of the 18th century, transforming two centuries of European exploration literature into an encyclopedic account of the known world at the dawn of Britain's great age of maritime expansion.

Cartographers

Emanuel Bowen (1694 - May 8, 1767) was a Welsh cartographer, map engraver, and publisher active in London during the first half and middle of the 18th century. Born at Talley, Carmarthenshire, he was apprenticed in 1709 to the London engraver and globe-maker Charles Price, beginning a career that combined the compilation of geographical information with copperplate engraving for booksellers and map publishers. His early work included maps for an Atlas of the World issued in 1717, followed by Britannia Depicta; or, Ogilby Improv'd (1720), prepared with John Owen, which brought together reduced road-strip maps, county maps, and historical and heraldic information in a portable volume. In 1729, Bowen published a subscription-funded map of South Wales, substantially improving the region's cartographic representation; the map's geographical information subsequently informed his Welsh county maps. After working at several London addresses, he established workshops in Aldersgate, Smithfield, and Clerkenwell, producing maps extensively for other publishers rather than relying on a prominent retail shop. His international cartography included maps for A Complete System of Geography (1744 - 1747), the 1744-48 edition of Navigantium atque itinerantium bibliotheca, and A Complete Atlas (1752). He became geographer to George II around 1747. Among his apprentices were Thomas Kitchin (1719 - 1784), who married Bowen's daughter Sarah in 1739, and Thomas Jefferys (1719 - 1771), apprenticed in 1735. With Kitchin, Bowen produced the county maps issued between 1749 and 1760 that formed The Large English Atlas; their collaboration continued in The Royal English Atlas around 1763. His maps characteristically combined detailed geographical engraving and ornamental cartouches with extensive historical, economic, and topographical annotations. Despite his substantial output and royal appointment, Bowen died in reduced circumstances in 1767. His son and fellow engraver, Thomas Bowen (d. 1790), continued his cartographic work, including Atlas Anglicanus (1767 - 1768), which was completed and issued after Emanuel's death.   Further Details...

William Ambrosia Cowley (fl. c. 1683 - 1686) was an English privateer and navigator notable for circumnavigating the globe and for producing the first map of the Galapagos Islands, drafted in 1684. A brief account of his travels appeared as 'Cowley's Voyage Round the Globe' in William Hacke's Collection of Original Voyages, published in 1699. He was also the originator of the phantom island of Pepys, supposedly some 230 nautical miles north of the Falkland Islands.   Further Details...

Source

Harris, J., Navigantium Atque Itinerantium Bibliotheca…, (London: T. Woodward) 1744.    

Condition

Excellent.

References

OCLC 677987838. Shirley (BL Atlases) G.HARR-1a #3.