Other 18th-/19th-century conflicts
Maps, views and documents from 19 wars
Battle of Porto Bello, 1739 (Portobelo, Colón, Panama) 09°33'00"N 79°39'00"W
published 27 Mar 1740Engraving and etching; printed below a map of Porto Bello, which is engraved from a separate copperplate, on the same sheet of paper; hand-coloured | Scale: 1:22,000 approx. | RCIN 728026
The title gives the date of the battle as the 22nd of November; however, the engagement was begun on the 20th and the town was taken on the 21st. The victory was popular with the British public, the Portobello Road in London being named after it, and George Washington's estate in Virginia being named in honour of the Admiral: Mount Vernon.
This map is based on a plan of Porto Bello by Lt Philip Durell was published in Traill, (1894-7), vol. IV, p.17. According to Charnock (1794-8), Captain James Rentone, by whom the drawing for this map was brought back to England, was employed by Vice Admiral Vernon because of his knowledge of the area. Vernon selected him to take the news of the victory back to London and he arrived on 13 March 1740. Vernon's dispatches included Philip Durell's manuscript map which appears to have been engraved and published in record time, the publication date being only seventeen days after the arrival of the map in London.
Additional text: [bottom left of map, in rectangular panel, a German translation of a note by James Rentone; begins:] Dieser Grund Riss von dem Hafen, / der Stadt u. den Forten von / Porto belo / .... [bottom, in rectangular panel below map, a key, A-I, K-P:] Zeichen Erklaerung; [bottom right, inside neatline, a note on the soundings.]
[Bottom right of view, in rectangular panel, a key, A-F, H-I, K-M, O-Q, and a brief description of the action:] Perspectivische Vorstellung des Hafens, Castels u. der Stadt / Porto belo.
For further reading, see:
R. Harding, ‘Vernon, Edward (1684–1757)’, Oxford Dictionary of National Biography, 2004; online edn, Jan 2008.
Condition: one fold line. Verso: remains of former guard along central fold; induced discolouration.
Homann's Heirs (1724-1848) (cartographer and publisher) [top, outside border, following on from title:] ex prototypo Londinensi desumta / prostat in Officina Homaniana. 1740. cum Privil. S. Caes. Majest. [bottom left, inside neatline:] Herausgegeben d. 27. Mart in London.
Subject(s)
Royal NavyNavy-SpainWatermark: A double-lined ‘4’ with double upright suspending a heart within which are the initials MHD
Condition: one fold line. Verso: remains of former guard along central fold; induced discolouration
Scale: 1:22,000 approx. Scale bar: Maasstab von 2. Englischen Meilen. [148 mm =].
20.6 x 28.3 cm (neatline of map)
22.9 x 27.9 cm (neatline of view)
24.0 x 28.8 cm (image of map)
23.8 x 28.1 cm (image of view)
25.0 x 29.9 cm (platemark of map)
25.0 x 29.9 cm (platemark of view)
54.1 x 31.7 cm (sheet)
Printed title:
PORTUS PULCHRI, in Isthmo Panamensi siti accurata Ichnographia [top of map, outside border]
Printed title:
Scenographia Portus pulchri [top of view, outside border]
Additional text:
Dieser Grund Riss von dem Hafen, / der Stadt u. den Forten von / Porto belo / .... [bottom left of map, in rectangular panel, a German translation of a note by James Rentone; begins] Zeichen Erklaerung [bottom, in rectangular panel below map, a key, A-I, K-P:]; [bottom right, inside neatline, a note on the soundings.]; Perspectivische Vorstellung des Hafens, Castels u. der Stadt / Porto belo. [Bottom right of view, in rectangular panel, a key, A-F, H-I, K-M, O-Q, and a brief description of the action:]
Annotations:
George III heading: Porto Belo 22 Nov.r 1739. Other annotations: none.
George III catalogue entry:
Porto Belo Plan and View of Porto Belo taken by Admiral Vernon on the 22.d of Nov.r 1739, copied from Durell's Plan: published by the Heirs of Homann.
Subject(s)
Portobelo, Colón, Panama (09°33'00"N 79°39'00"W)
Bibliographic reference(s)
R. Harding, ‘Vernon, Edward (1684–1757)’, Dictionary of National Biography, 2004, online edn 2008
Page revisions
23 May 2024
Current version
