• Title: Vue Du Coste Du Sud Ouest De L Isle De Tiniam; Vue De La Rade De Tiniam
• Date: 1760
• Condition : (A+) Fine Condition
• Ref: 25903
• Size: 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)

Description: 

This fine beautifully hand coloured original antique print two views of the Island of Tinian in the Northern Marianas Island group - situated between Hawaii & the Philippines - was published in Antoine-François Prevosts monumentus 20 volume edition of L`Histoire Generale des Voyages published by Pierre de Hondt, The Hague in 1747-80.

Tinian is one of the three principal islands of the Commonwealth of the Northern Marianas Islands. It is perhaps best known for being the base from which the United States launched their atomic bomb attacks on Japan during World War II.

Background: Northern Mariana Islands - The first European exploration of the area was in 1521 by Ferdinand Magellan, who landed on nearby Guam and claimed the islands for Spain. The Spanish ships were met offshore by the native Chamorros, who delivered refreshments and then helped themselves to a small boat belonging to Magellan's fleet. This led to a cultural clash, since in Chamorro tradition there was little private property and taking something one needed, such as a boat for fishing, was not considered stealing. The Spanish did not understand this custom. The Spanish fought against the local Chamorros until the boat was recovered. The Spanish then gave the archipelago the name Islas de los Ladrones ("Islands of the Thieves"). Three days after he had been welcomed on his arrival, Magellan fled the archipelago under attack. In 1565 Miguel López de Legazpi arrived in Guam and took possession of the islands in the name of the Spanish Crown. The islands were to be ruled from the Philippines as part of the Spanish East Indies until 1898. A Royal Palace was built in Guam for the Spanish governor of the islands. Its ruins can still be seen. Guam was an important stop-over for the Manila Galleons, a convoy of ships carrying passengers and cargo such as silver, plants and animals from Acapulco (Mexico) to Manila. On the return trip from the Philippines to Mexico, the galleons did not call at Guam as the eastern winds were farther north, near the coast of Japan. In 1668 Padre Diego Luis de San Vitores renamed the islands Las Marianas after Queen Mariana of Austria, widow of Spain's Philip IV. Most of the islands' native population (90%-95%) died from Spanish diseases or married non-Chamorro settlers under Spanish rule. New settlers, primarily from the Philippines and the Caroline Islands, were brought to repopulate the islands. The Chamorro population did gradually recover, and Chamorro, Filipino and Carolinian language and ethnic differences remain basically distinct in the Marianas. Spanish colonists forced the Chamorros to be concentrated on Guam to encourage assimilation and conversion to Christianity. By the time Chamorros were allowed to return to the Northern Marianas, Carolinians (from present-day eastern Yap State and western Chuuk State) had settled in the Marianas. Carolinians and Chamorros now are both considered as indigenous and both languages are official in the commonwealth (though not on Guam).(Ref: Tooley; M&B) 

General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Early 
Colors used: - Green, red, blue 
General color appearance: - Authentic  
Paper size: - 14 1/2in x 10in (370mm x 255mm)
Plate size: - 14in x 9in (355mm x 255mm)
Margins: - Min 1/4in (5mm)

Imperfections:
Margins: - None
Plate area: - Folds as issued
Verso: - None