Eighty Years War (Dutch War of Independence) (1568-1648)
Contemporary prints and maps of the battles and sieges of the Eighty Years War
River Scheldt, Antwerp, Bergen op Zoom, Slaak and Zandvliet, 1631
Caerte / van’t SCHELDT ende / SANTVLIET, / Vertoonede de verdroncken / overwaterde Landen, nieuw / aengewasse gorsingen, en de / kreeken oft killen in en door / de selve...
published 1632Etching and engraving; three plates printed on four sheets of paper, joined; mounted on paper (Mount Type A), mount cropped | Scale: 1:13,000 approx. | RCIN 722060.a
A map of the Scheldt estuary and surrounding country, showing the Spanish fleet leaving Antwerp on 10 September and with a view of their subsequent defeat at the Battle of the Slaak, fought on 12 and 13 September 1631 between the United Provinces, supported by English forces under the command of Vice-Admiral Marinus Hollare and the Spanish, under the commander-in-chief of the Spanish navy in the Netherlands, Francisco de Moncada, 3rd Marquis of Aitona (1586-1635) and a catholic member of the House of Orange-Nassau, Count Jan VIII van Nassau-Siegen (1583-1638), resulting in a Dutch victory. Eighty Years War (1568-1648). Oriented with east to top (compass rose). See RCIN 722060.b for the accompanying letterpress text.
A similar image by Hollar (Pennington 683), covering almost exactly the same geographical area, and including the inset view, is in the Rijksmuseum (RP-P-1906-192). It was published in Belgium sive Germania inferior.
The main sheet of this composite image is a revised state of an earlier issue of this map and view, showing markedly different, mainly less, topographical detail and with a different title: PAS-CAERT / vande ghelegeetheyt / vande SCHANS TE / SANTVLIET which was also published by Visscher in 1632 (Campbell 1968, Simon 1958). Part of this less detailed map formed a plate in Brabantia provincia II (Falz 33).
After Josua Van den Enden (c.1584-1638) (designer)
Claes Jansz Visscher II (c.1587-1652) (cartographer and publisher)
Watermark: Horn in shield, crown and fleur-de-lys above, letters I B to the side
Condition: five fold lines; slight brown discolouration and ink stains; no gilt edges; pressure marks from the mounts of items which were kept above and below this map/print in a different collection are present on the recto and verso
Scale: 1:13,000 approx. Scale bar: Een gemene Duÿtsche Mijle van 15 in een Graedt [77 mm =].
39.3 x 64.4 cm (image and sheet)
39.5 x 32.4 cm (mount)
Printed title:
Caerte / van’t SCHELDT ende / SANTVLIET, / Vertoonede de verdroncken / overwaterde Landen, nieuw / aengewasse gorsingen, en de / kreeken oft killen in en door / de selve tussche Bergen op / zoom en Antwerpen. [bottom right, in cartouche surmounted by a fisherman – perhaps a play on the publisher’s name - and with bullrushes to the left]
Inset:
[top right, in rectangular panel with drapes at the left side:] VEROVERINGE VAN DE SPAENSCHE-VLOOT IN SEELANDT DEN 13.d SEPTEMBER 1631. Size: 11.5 x 36.9 cm (neatline).
Annotations:
George III heading: Naval Engagement in the Schelde &c. 10 – 13 September 1631.
Other inscriptions: (Recto) none. (Verso) [top left, in a ‘dal Pozzo’ hand?; ink:] B.
George III catalogue entry:
Naval Engagement A Map of the Mouths of the Schelde relative to the Spanish Expedition from Antwerp on the 10.th of Sept.r 1631; with a View of the defeat of the Spanish Fleet by the Dutch on the 13.th of Sept.r 1631: by C.I. Visscher, 1632: with a Description. [The same entry appears under the heading Schelde]
Subject(s)
Antwerp, Flanders, Belgium (51°13'11"N 04°25'12"E)
Bergen op Zoom, North Brabant, Netherlands (51°29'42"N 04°17'30"E)
Slaak, marine channel, Zeeland, Netherlands (51°39ʹ22ʺN 04°08ʹ10ʺE)
Zandvliet, Flanders, Belgium (51°21ʹ33ʺN 04°18ʹ36ʺE)
Bibliographic reference(s)
T. Campbell, ‘Claes Jansz. Visscher : a hundred maps described’, Map Collectors’ Circle V, no. 46, London 1968, p. 23, no. 89
C. Koeman. Atlantes Neerlandici : bibliography of terrestrial maritime and celestial atlases and pilot books, published in the Netherlands up to 1880, 3, Leiden 1967-1985, p. 159, Vis 1A, no. 10 and p. 178, no. 64
M. McDonald, The Print Collection of Cassiano dal Pozzo. Part II, Architecture, Topography and Military Maps, 3 vols, London 2019, cat. no. 2933
Page revisions
14 March 2024
Current version
