1741 Island of Juan Fernandez, Chile, Schley, hand colored map

Jakob van der Schley & Jacques Nicolas Bellin

'Carte Particuliere de l'Isle de Juan Fernandez - Byzondere Kaart van 't Eiland Juan Fernandez'

Pubished in Amsterdam, 1741

Dimensions: 36 x 25.3 cm

Map of the Chilean Juan Fernandez Island, topped by a view of its rocky profile and adorned with a decorative title cartouche and a compass rose with fleur-de-lys. The map was based on Admiral George Anson's voyage in 1740, when he set sail in command of a squadron sent to attack Spanish possessions and interests in South America. The expedition was ill-equipped and failed to carry out its original ambitious mission. By June 1741 when Anson reached Juan Fernandes, his force had been reduced to only three of the original six ships, while the strength of his crews had fallen from 961 to 335. After launching several attacks on the west coast of South America and recuperating on the island, he collected the remaining survivors on his flagship, the Centurion, and set sail in search of one of the richly laden galleons that conducted the trade between Mexico and the Philippines. The indomitable perseverance he had shown during one of the most arduous voyages the history of sea adventure gained the reward of the capture of an immensely rich prize, the Nuestra Senora de Covadonga, which he encountered off Cape Espiritu Santo on June 20, 1743. Juan Fernandes Island was later made famous by Daniel Defoe's novel Robinson Crusoe as the island upon which he was marooned.

Jakob van der Schley was a skilled draftsman and engraver who operated out of Amsterdam and had strong ties with the Hague. He was trained by Bernard Picart and his style resembles that of the elder man. Van der Schely was known for intricately engraved portraits and frontispieces. He signed most of the plates used in the Hague edition of the Abbe Prevost's Histoire generale des voyages.