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1893 Admiralty Nautical Chart or Maritime Map of Bangka Strait, Indonesia
BankaStrait-admiralty-1893$325.00
Title
China Sea Banka Strait.
1893 (dated) 37.75 x 26.5 in (95.885 x 67.31 cm) 1 : 280000
1893 (dated) 37.75 x 26.5 in (95.885 x 67.31 cm) 1 : 280000
Description
This is an 1893 British Admiralty nautical chart or maritime map of the Bangka (Banka) Strait, the strait which separates Bangka (Banka) Island from Sumatra in Indonesia. The map depicts the region from the mouth of the Musi River to Toboali Bay and from the Karimata Strait to the island of Sumatra. Highly detailed, myriad depth soundings, measured in fathoms, are indicated throughout. Numerous coastal locations on Bangka Island are labeled, including rivers, bays, and points. Towns, such as Blinyu, Tobali, Jibuse, Muntok, and Sungi Slan, are labeled. Main roads connecting the towns are illustrated, as are mountains throughout the island. On Sumatra, the Musi River is depicted inland to Palembang, with depth soundings indicated the entire illustrated length of the river. Notes on tides and other important remarks are situated in the lower left corner, along with views of the southwest coast of Bangka Island and the coast of Lucipara Island.
A Short History of Bangka Island
Records from the 15th century indicate that Bangka Island played a significant role in Chinese trade at that point in history. It was not until around 1710 when tin was discovered on the island that migrants began to come to Bangka. Even today, descendants of Chinese immigrants from this era still make up a large portion of Bangka's population. By 1722, the Dutch East India Company had managed to secure a monopolistic tin purchase agreement, but hostilities soon arose between the Dutch and the ruling Sultanate. In 1811, the British invaded Java, which precipitated the massacre of the staff of a Dutch post on Bangka, which, in turn, led to him being deposed and executed by the British. Bangka was then ceded to the British by the deposed sultan's successor, and the island was then exchanged with the Dutch for Cochin in India in 1814. By the end of the 19th century, Bangka had become an important production center for tin in the region, with an annual output of around 1,250 tons.
This map was created by the British Admiralty, engraved by J and C Walker and Company, and published by the British Admiralty in 1893.
A Short History of Bangka Island
Records from the 15th century indicate that Bangka Island played a significant role in Chinese trade at that point in history. It was not until around 1710 when tin was discovered on the island that migrants began to come to Bangka. Even today, descendants of Chinese immigrants from this era still make up a large portion of Bangka's population. By 1722, the Dutch East India Company had managed to secure a monopolistic tin purchase agreement, but hostilities soon arose between the Dutch and the ruling Sultanate. In 1811, the British invaded Java, which precipitated the massacre of the staff of a Dutch post on Bangka, which, in turn, led to him being deposed and executed by the British. Bangka was then ceded to the British by the deposed sultan's successor, and the island was then exchanged with the Dutch for Cochin in India in 1814. By the end of the 19th century, Bangka had become an important production center for tin in the region, with an annual output of around 1,250 tons.
This map was created by the British Admiralty, engraved by J and C Walker and Company, and published by the British Admiralty in 1893.
CartographerS
The British Admiralty Office (1795 - Present) or the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office refers to the Branch of the English government that is responsible for the command of the British Navy. In 1795 King George III created the United Kingdom Hydrographic Office, known in short as the U.K.H.O., to provide top notch nautical charts to the vast Royal Navy. Prior the founding of the Admiralty the surveying and creation of nautical charts was primarily a commercial venture wherein the cartographer himself, more of than not, actually financed the printing of his own material. The great navigator Cook himself is known to have scrambled for funds to publish his own seminal charts - the most important and advanced of the period. The system of privately funded nautical mapping and publishing left vast portions of the world uncharted and many excellent charts unpublished. King George III, responding significant loss in trade revenue related to shipwrecks and delay due to poor charts, recognized the need for an institutionalized government sponsored cartographic agency - the Admiralty. The first head of the Admiralty, a position known as Hydrographer, was the important cartographer Alexander Dalrymple. Dalrymple started by organizing and cataloging obtainable charts before initiating the laborious process of updating them and filling in the blanks. The first official Admiralty Chart appeared in 1800 and detailed Quiberon Bay in Brittany. By 1808 the position of Hydrographer fell to Captain Thomas Hurd. Hurd advocated the sale of Admiralty charts to the general public and, by the time he retired in 1829, had issued and published some 736 charts. Stewardship of the organization then passed to Rear Admiral Sir Francis Beaufort. It was under Beaufort's administration that the Admiralty truly developed as a "chart making" as opposed to a "chart cataloging" institution. Beaufort held his post from 1829 to 1854. In his 25 years at the Admiralty Beaufort created nearly 1500 new charts and sponsored countless surveying and scientific expeditions - including the 1831 to 1836 voyage of the H.M.S. Beagle. By 1855 the Admiralty's chart catalog listed some 1,981 charts. More by this mapmaker...
John Walker (1787 - April 19, 1873) was a British map seller, engraver, lithographer, hydrographer, geographer, draughtsman, and publisher active in London during the 19th century. Walker published both nautical charts and geographical maps. His nautical work is particularly distinguished as he was an official hydrographer for the British East India Company, a position, incidentally, also held by his father of the same name. Walker's maps, mostly published after 1827, were primarily produced with his brothers Charles Walker and Alexander Walker under the imprint J. and C. Walker. Among their joint projects are more than 200 maps for the influential Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge Atlas (SDUK). In addition they published numerous charts for James Horsburgh and the British Admiralty Hydrographic Office, including Belcher's important map of Hong Kong and Carless' exploratory map of Karachi. The J. and C. Walker firm continued to publish after both Walkers died in the 1870s. Learn More...
Condition
Very good. Even overall toning. Light soiling. Some wormholing. Closed minor margin tears professionally repaired on verso. Blank on verso.