Montanus View Augustine Florida (1 results)

Excellent. Two tiny wormholes, else fine. Size 10.5 x 13.75 Inches. This is a beautifully realized Arnoldus Montanus/John Ogilby view of the Spanish settlement of St. Augustine, Florida, the oldest European city within the bounds of what would be the United States. St. Augustine was founded by Pedro Menendez in 1565 to protect the northernmost frontier of the Spanish Empire on America's east coast and to project Spanish power over the trade route passing from the Gulf of Mexico through the passage between Florida and the Bahamas. A Closer Look The walled settlement is shown in good order, with buildings both within and without; cannon peek through tower portals. To the left, closely set houses interspersed with church steeples march up the foothills of imaginary mountains. The scene is very lively: Spanish colonial grandees follow wagonloads of goods down to the waterfront, with natives wrangling the cargo whilst an enslaved African carries a parasol over a veiled Spanish woman. The river is busy with small craft and three moored warships. This view is understood to have been informed by the plan of the settlement produced by Baptista Boazio, who accompanied Sir Francis Drake during his raids on the city in 1586. Nonetheless, the present view bears little resemblance to Boazio's map. Publication History and Census This view was prepared for Arnoldus Montanus' 1671 De Nieuwe en Onbekende Werlde , engraved by Jacob van Meurs, and was included unchanged in John Ogilby's book America being the latest, and most accurate description of the New World , printed the same year. We see 8 separate examples listed in OCLC; the view appears on the market from time to time. References: OCLC 651971896.