Bahamas - Cuba - Jamaica - Hispaniola (Dominican Rep. & Haiti) - Puerto Rico - Guadeloupe & Dominica - St. Lucia - Trinidad - Curaçao
http://americas.sas.ac.uk/library/
http://www.ucalgary.ca/applied_history/tutor/eurvoya/columbus.html
http://www.mona.uwi.edu/library/
[209] Map: ‘Descripcion de las Yndias Ocidentalis’
This map, originally drawn in manuscript about 1570 by Juan López de Velasco (ref. 59), was designed to show the demarcation lines, settled by the Treaty of Tordesillas in 1494, in which Spain had been allocated all the lands between the ‘Meridiano de la Demarcacion por la Partie Oriental’ and ‘ … Partie Oscidental’. According to this map they would have claim to all lands from China, eastwards to include most of the Americas.
Map 1 (17.3x30.0), from Part XII(g),
first published in 1623 with German text, and in 1624 with Latin text. It also
appeared in Part XIV(g) in 1630 with German text and in Part XIII(g) in 1634
with Latin text: 
[031] Map: ‘Occidentalis Americae Partis …’
This very decorative map of the West Indies, compressed between Florida and Tierra Firme, has no known source data. Although Benzoni’s name appears in the title cartouche and the map was issued with the first part of his illustrated travels, he was not a cartographer and was, therefore, unlikely to have contributed in any way to its execution. Apart from the Florida peninsular, whose distinctive configuration clearly resembles the Florida map in Part II(g), its depiction of over-rotund West Indian islands, is almost unique. ‘Borichén’ is the old name used for Puerto Rico, ‘Cubagua’ (see: [192]), which in reality is much smaller and located further west, is here shown where Trinidad should be, and ‘Y de S. Bo’, for Sancto Bernardo, looks more like Trinidad, yet is too far west. The seas are decorated with Columbus’s ships and the Cross of Christianity is shown on ‘Gunahaní’ (see: [032]), believed to be Watlings Island, is misplaced about 1,000 miles to the south-east, on or near the island of Barbuda. To add to the confusion, ‘Guanahaní’, which could also be ‘Guanahaní’ is more or less correctly placed in the Bahamas, and ‘Lucaya’ and ‘Bahama’, which are probably Grand Bahama and Great Abaco, are too far to the north-east where Bermuda should be.
Map
(33.0x44.0), from Part IV(g), first published in 1594, with German or Latin
text:
[027] Map: ‘Descripçion de las Indias del Norte’
This is an almost exact copy of Antonio de Herrera’s map, first published in 1601, which in turn was based on manuscript data compiled by Juan Lopez de Velasco, c1570. Although the coastal contours are crude and the nomenclature minimal, the overall configuration of this outline map is good. Baja California has a curious ‘hook’ shape and the peninsular of Florida is too narrow but Yucatan, the Isthmus and the West Indies are well defined, even the latitudes are fairly accurate. Only a few of the Audiencias are marked, along with the more important place-names.
Map 2
(15.9x28.8), from Part XII(g), first published in 1623 with German text and
1624 with Latin text:
[028] Map: ‘Descriptio del Destricto del Audiencia de la Española: 3’
Originally drawn about 1570, by Juan López de Velasco (ref. 59), this map marks the location of the Spanish Audiencias at that time on the islands of Cuba, Jamaica, Hispaniola and Puerto Rico. At the top right, twenty of these Audiencias are named, although some have now changed beyond recognition. There are also several other place-names, not commonly found on other maps, particularly along the coasts of Venezuela and around the Florida peninsular. The prime meridian of longitude appears to have been drawn through the Canary Islands (about 15º - 20º west of Greenwich). After correction therefore the longitudes are about 500 miles too far to the west.
Map 3
(19.5x21.5), from Part XII(g), first published in 1623 with German text and
1624 with Latin text:
[029] Columbus reaches the West Indies
This shows symbolically Columbus’s ship being guided through the shallow waters by Diana towards the islands of Cuba, Hispañola and Jamaica. In the sea is Neptune on a horse-drawn chariot, while Sirens, hybrids and other sea monsters, symbolising the dangers of the sea. (This engraving is derived from one published nine years earlier by Stradanus (ref. 56.)
Plate 6
(14.4x19.4), from Part IV(g), first published in 1594 with German or Latin
text:
[032] Columbus lands on the island of San Salvador
On 12th October 1492 in the early dawn, after 33 days at sea, Columbus sighted land. His three ships made their way round the south-west point of an island Columbus named San Salvador, believed today to be Watling Island in the Bahamas. According to Benzoni (ref. 3), they cut down a tree on the western shore, made a cross and erected it in the name of Christianity. The native Arawaks, who called their island ‘Guanahaní’, fled in terror but later returned with gifts of friendship but not the fabulous ornaments suggested here. They were believed to have worn small gold pendants, which they said had come from another island to the southwest.
Plate 9 (16.4x19.5), from Part
IV(g), first published in 1594 with German or Latin text:
[095] Indians catch whales in the West Indies
It was reported that the Indians paddled out to sea in their canoes to catch whales and that. It was reported* that, if they got close enough they would climb onto the creature’s back and hammer two wooden pegs into its nostrils, through which it breathed and sprayed water. Ropes were tied to these pegs, with which they would haul the creature onto dry land when it was unable to breathe any more. When the Indians fished with nets, they would paddle out, astride bundles of papyrus reeds. When they returned to shore they would leave their craft out to dry in the sun.
*This description is based on reported hearsay, from J de Acosta’s account (ref. 1).
Plate 1
(14.3x18.1), from Part IX(g), first published in 1601, with German text or 1602
with Latin text:
http://bell.lib.umn.edu/encounters/home.html
[045] The French defeat the Spanish at Havana
In 1536 a French ship entered the harbour of Havana and forced the Spanish to pay 700 ducats to prevent the town from being burnt to the ground. As the invaders departed, the Spanish gave chase in some cargo ships. This resulted in further conflict at sea, with many of the Spanish having to abandon their ships for rowing boats or by jumping overboard and swimming ashore. The French then took possession of their ships, returned to Havana and subsequently forced the Spanish to pay another ransom.
Plate 6
(16.0x19.5), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
http://bell.lib.umn.edu/encounters/home.html
[046] Chorera in Cuba is burnt by the French
When the town of Chorera was ransacked by the French, they were unable to find any loot so they captured some of the Spanish and held them for ransom. Instead the Spanish launched a counter attack but when this failed the French set fire to the town and escaped with whatever valuables they could find. While burning the church, some of the French declared ‘men who have no faith shall have no temple’.
Plate 7
(15.4x18.8), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
[047] The capture of the Spanish Silver Fleet
During their voyage with about thirteen ships to the West Indies in 1626-8, the Dutch managed to capture the entire Spanish Silver Fleet while they were moored in Matanzas harbour in Cuba. Above the nautical scene are the medallion portraits of General Heyn, who commanded the Dutch troops and Admiral Lonq, who was in charge of the Dutch fleet. Below is an inset map of the islands of Cuba and Jamaica, with south to the top, showing the location of the fleets at the time of the capture. There is also a key for identifying the names of the various ships. The scene derives from Casper En’s engraving, Köln, 1628, which was published by Hulsius in 1629, then by the de Brys’ the following year.
Page 58/9
(18.4x39.4), from Part XIV(g), first published in 1630 with German text, and
Page 136/7 from Part XIII(g) with Latin text: N/A
On 29th May 1504, Columbus entered St. Ann’s Bay, Jamaica, but the Porras brothers and a number of Spanish soldiers on the island prevented him from coming ashore and tried unsuccessfully to board his ship, using a number of Indian boats. When the attack failed Columbus and his brother were eventually able to land their men and fierce hand-to-hand fighting ensued, leading eventually to Francisco de Porras being arrested.
Plate 14 (15.8x19.4), from Part
IV(g), first published in 1594 with German or Latin text:
http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/library.htm
Hispaniola (Dominican Rep. & Haiti)
[034] A terrifying storm hits Hispaniola
In June 1495, a violent hurricane rushed in from the sea and people thought the end of the world had come. There was lightening and the day became so dark that they failed to recognise one another. Trees were uprooted, rocks scattered, houses flattened and people killed. Three ships, which were thought to be safe in the old harbour of Isabella, sank with all hands aboard. As a result of this storm, Columbus ordered a new harbour to be built in a safer place on the south side of the island, which later became known as Santo Domingo. [This is the first engraving of a hurricane ever printed.]
Plate 11 (16.0x20.0), from Part
IV(g), first published in 1594, with German or Latin text:
http://bell.lib.umn.edu/encounters/home.html
[037] A religious ritual on Hispaniola
On certain feast-days the Indian cacique, by beating a drum, led a procession of his people to the worship of their idol, which was a strange hybrid-like creature with several heads. The men came first, dressed in parrot feathers and necklaces of seashells painted black, red and yellow. The women, decorated with jewellery, followed with their naked daughters. When all were assembled, the cacique inserted a stake into his throat and made himself vomit, to rid himself of secrets. While the men sat cross-legged and chanted, the women brought baskets of bread and roses in adoration of their idol.
Plate 24 (16.5x20.2), from Part IV(g),
first published in 1594, with German or Latin text:
[033] Columbus punishes the seditious Spanish
When, in ill health, Columbus returned to Hispaniola on 29th September 1494, he found the island in utter disorder and had some of the seditious Spanish hanged. This caused further unrest and a Benedictine monk denied Columbus the sacrament. Columbus then cut off food supplies to the abbey, whereupon the monks began to write many dreadful things about him and his brother, Bartholomew, whom Columbus had made governor of the island. Two years later, when the king of Spain heard about these troubles, he summoned Columbus to return to Spain for a hearing at the royal court.
Plate 10 (16.0x19.7), from Part IV(g),
first published in 1594 with German or Latin text:
[035] Columbus and his brother are arrested
When Bodadilla, the newly appointed governor of Hispaniola arrived on 23rd August 1500 he found that Columbus was away in Vega Real at the time and his brother, Bartholomew, was in Xaraguá. In his absence, Columbus had put his youngest brother, Diego, in command, so Bobadilla immediately had him arrested and put in leg-ironsl. Later when Columbus and his other brother, Bartholomew, turned up they were also put in chains and eventually sent back to Spain. On their arrival, Columbus disembarked still in chains, refusing to be released. This caused Ferdinand and Isabella such embarrassment that they were only able to correct the misunderstanding by subsequently bestowing honours upon him.
Plate 13 (16.0x19.5), from Part
IV(g),
first published in 1594 with German or Latin text:
[036] Indian suicides under Spanish rule
The natives of Hispaniola, who saw no end to the fearful oppression of Spanish rule, preferred death. So many, devoid of all hope, went into the woods to kill their children and hang themselves. The women, after taking certain natural poisons, followed their husbands to death by means of the noose. Others threw themselves down mountains, jumped into the sea or into rivers, while some died by self-imposed starvation or stabbed themselves to death with razor sharp stone knives.
Plate 23 (16.4x20.0), from Part IV(g),
first published in 1594, with German or Latin text:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Uploads/FILE_25930.pdf
http://www.floridahistory.com/de-bry-plates/de-bry-biography-mirror.htm
[038] Black slaves mining gold
When the indigenous peoples of Hispaniola became worn out under Spanish rule, they refused to work and some committed suicide. Black slaves were consequently brought in to replace them and open up the veins of gold and silver found on the island, especially in the Cibo region of the Cordillera Central. They were purchased from the Portuguese who had already conquered Guinea in West Africa and profiteered handsomely from the slave trade. Here the slaves are shown digging into the mountainside for the precious metals and pouring them in heaps before the Spanish for inspection.
Plate 1 (16.0x19.5), from Part
V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin text:
http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/exhibits/terra/early.html
[040] Spanish cruelty of the Black slaves
The Black slaves were punished for the slightest reason. Those that returned from the mines at the end of the day without sufficient gold or silver ore were stripped, bound and flogged until they bled all over, then boiling oil or pitch were poured on the wounds and cured with peppers and salt. They were then lightly covered with sacking until they had revived enough to start working again. Others, after flogging, were buried up to their necks so the earth absorbed their blood. Those that died in this way were easily replaced. The only penalty for killing slaves, was for another slave to be forfeited to the king.
Plate 3
(15.9x19.6), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
[039] Black slaves work the sugar plantations
After the veins of precious ore became depleted on Hispaniola, the Spanish set the Blacks to work on the sugar plantations. This soon became a highly profitable venture because the sugar cane grew quickly and with minimum attention. The work involved cutting the plant, stripping off the leaves and crushing the cane to extract the juice. These were then boiled in bronze cauldrons to form concentrated syrup. This was then poured into large earthenware pots for transportation. The fertile valleys, west of Santo Domingo near Baní, were ideally suited to grow the sugar cane plant.
Plate 2
(15.8x19.5), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
http://library.wustl.edu/units/spec/exhibits/terra/early.html
[041] Black slaves escape punishment
Many Black slaves, weary of ill treatment, escaped from Spanish captivity and freely wandered the island, breaking into prisons and recruiting other slaves. Soon they outnumbered the Spanish and sought revenge by killing some of them. After a meeting at the governor’s palace in Santo Domingo, many Spanish soldiers were sent out to quell the rebellion by catching the Blacks by night and hanging them from trees. The Blacks learnt from this to keep a lookout all night and as a result became much more difficult to catch.
Plate 4
(15.6x19.1), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
http://www.southwark.gov.uk/Uploads/FILE_25930.pdf
[042] The Spanish capture a French Ship
The Spanish sighted two French ships off the coast of Santo Domingo and pursued them with their fleet. One of the French ships that had many Catalan sailors aboard and had formerly been under the allegiance of the Spanish Crown, fled in fear of capture. The other French ships fired at the Spanish flagship causing it some damage but because of an accidental explosion aboard was subsequently captured. The French captives were then paraded through the streets of the city to such cheering that one might have thought the whole of France had been taken. The captured French ship was later burnt at sea with all its equipment aboard.
Plate 5
(15.4x18.4), from Part V(g), first published in 1595, with German or Latin
text:
[043] Francis Drake attacks the town of Santo Domingo
The town of Santo Domingo on Hispaniola was once the capital of Spanish America, but in 1586 when Drake arrived it had deteriorated somewhat in stature. Because it was still the largest settlement in the West Indies, Drake chose it as his first target. He landed 10 miles west of the town and, with an army of 800 men under the command of Commander Carleill, attacked the weakly defended town from the rear where it was almost without fortifications. The English quickly took over control of the town and ransomed it for 25,000 ducats. [The ducket was a fine gold coin weighing about three and a half grammes.]
Plate 7
(15.4x21.1), from Part VIII(g), first published in 1599 with Latin text, and as
Ad. Plate 7, and in 1600 with German text:
http://international.loc.gov/intldl/fiahtml/fiatheme1d1.html
http://www.loc.gov/rr/rarebook/catalog/drake/drake-6-caribraid.html
[044] Spanish immortality is tested on Puerto Rico
An Indian cacique of Boriquén, which is the old name for San Juan de Puerto Rico, decided to test the apparent invincibility of the Spaniards. While the Indians were helping a Spanish dignitary carry his luggage across a river, they seized and held him under the water to see if he could survive drowning. His death was said to have dissolved the myth of Spanish invincibility and inspired a revolt among the Indians, which was eventually quelled by Diego Salazar.
Plate 5 (16.2x19.9), from Part
IV(g), first published in 1594, with German or Latin text:
[050] Vespucci lands on the island of Itius
According to the esteemed historian, Las Casas, ‘Itius cannot be other than the islands we reach coming from Spain such as Guadeloupe and Dominica’. When Vespucci and his Spanish companions tried to land there, they encountered resistance from about four hundred Indians, who fought them off at the water’s edge. There were both men and women and their naked bodies were decorated with war-paint. They had bows and arrows and threw stones at the intruders. There was fierce fighting and many Indians were killed, until after two days, the Indians finally retreated to the forest, so that Vespucci and his companions could land.
Plate 5
(15.3x17.5), from Part X(g), first published in 1618 with German text and in
1619 with Latin text:
[051] The English are attacked on Santa Lucia
During Oliver Leagh’s voyage to Guiana in 1605, Captain St. John went ashore with a number of the crew. There they built a settlement by the sea and for some weeks traded peacefully with the local Caribs. Then they were suddenly attacked with bows and arrows and a fierce battle ensued which lasted several days. Many of the English died but those who survived did so by escaping by night in canoes to their moored sailing ship. From Santa Lucia they sailed south-west and eventually made landfall on the Venezuelan coast between La Guaira and Coro.
Page 69
(14.8x17.4), from Part XIII(g), first published in 1627 with German text, and
on Page 46 in 1634 with Latin text:
http://www.infoamerica.org/museo/expo_bry/bryxiii/bryxiii01.htm
http://commonwealth.sas.ac.uk/library.htm
[052] Sir Walter Ralegh in Trinidad
When Ralegh arrived with his ships at Port-of-Spain in Trinidad, he was courteous and friendly to the local Spanish people who had colonised the island. By so doing he won their trust and was able to learn much about the strength of the Spanish army and the geography of the island. Then one night he attacked the town of San José [now called St. Joseph] about six miles east of Port-of-Spain, with 100 men under the command of Captain Caulfield. The town was taken with little resistance, along with the governor of the island, Don Anyonio de Berrío whose residence was there. He was subsequently taken prisoner aboard Ralegh’s ship.
Plate 1
(13.5x17.6), from Part VIII(g), first published in 1599 with German text or
Plate 13 with Latin text:
[053] Vespucci lands on the island of Giants
When, in 1499-1500, Antonio de Ojeda and his crew including Vespucci, landed on an island known today as Curaçao, they saw giant footprints in the sand. These they followed for about a mile until they came across a small hamlet where they met two tall women and three girls who invited them into their dwelling for food. As the Spanish were trying to force the girls to return with them to their ship, about three dozen naked men appeared who were even taller than the women. Empty handed, the Spanish quickly returned to their ships, pursued by the Indians who waded out into the water shooting arrows after them as they departed.
Plate 6
(14.8x17.7), from Part X(g), first published in 1618 with German text and in
1619 with Latin text:
The End of this Geographical Category