1790 Robert Sayer Nautical Map of the West Indies, Florida, Caribbean

This is Robert Sayer's exceptional 1790 nautical map of the West Indies and Gulf of Mexico. This map emerged, much updated, on the cusp of significant regional upheaval, including conflicts related to the French Revolutionary Wars (1792 - 1802) and the Haitian Revolution (1791 - 1804), events that disrupted shipping, provoked privateering and blockades, and reshaped the patterns of trade.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces the West Indies, Florida, and the Gulf of Mexico from Panuco to Barbados and from Mobile Bay to Panama. It includes the Gulf Littoral, Florida, all of Central America, the northern coast of South America, and the Greater and Lesser Antilles, including the Bahamas. It offers meticulous coastal detail with detailed soundings, but particularly around Florida, the Yucatan, the Bay of Honduras, the Mosquito, and Nicaragua. Belize, then an unofficial British colony, is identified as 'British Logwood Cutters' - see below.

Belize: British Logwood Cutters

British logwood cutters, called 'Baymen', were English adventurers established in present-day Belize from the 17th century. They take their name from logwood (Haematoxylum campechianum), a tree prized for producing deep red, purple, and black dyes. Many were former pirates (and privateers) who turned to logwood after the suppression of piracy in the 1720s. Their settlements were informal and seasonal at first, but soon emerged as permanent camps defended against Spanish expulsion attempts. The cutters organized themselves in a rough system of self-governance, allocating cutting grounds and resolving disputes through local councils, laying the foundation for subsequent British colonial administration. Logwood exports to Europe, especially Britain, became highly lucrative, feeding demand from the textile industry, and despite repeated Spanish raids, the British government tolerated and eventually formalized the trade as part of its broader Caribbean interests. A series of treaties, including the Treaty of Paris (1763) and the Treaty of Versailles (1783), recognized British logging rights, though sovereignty was nominally claimed by Spain. The region became an official colony, British Honduras, in 1862. Over time, as logwood stands were depleted, the cutters shifted toward mahogany.

Publication History and Census

This chart was first published by Sayer and Bennet in 1779. The present example, dated 1790, is the second edition. The map was subsequently acquired by Laurie and Whittle, who issued editions in 1794, 1799, and 1802. The map is also the source for the important Osgood Carlton / Norman chart of the same region, published in 1789 (Geographicus: WestIndies-norman-1789). This chart is a separate issue and notably distinct from the charts of the West Indies Sayer inherited from Thomas Jeffreys, published for the 1775 West India Atlas. We see a few examples of the 1779 edition in OCLC, but no holdings of the present 1790 edition. It is rare to the market in any edition.