1787 Gongora Map of Manila and Manila Bay, Philippines

This is an extremely scarce 1790 map of the vicinity around Manila, Philippines, prepared for Pedro Jiménez de Góngora y Luján, Duque Almodóvar del Río. Oriented roughly to the east, the map is centered on Manila, embracing Manila Bay and stretching eastward as far inland along the Pasig River to Laguna de Bay. The map reaches north to include the Pampanga Delta to Guagua.

Sources

Góngora's sources for this map are unclear. Some suggest it is derived from Pedro Murillo Velarde's 1734 Carta Hydrographica y Chorographica de las Islas Filipinas, but we do not find this to be a supportable position. The present map offers different information and detail than that which appears on the older Velarde. While the Velarde map somewhat correctly maps the form of Manila Bay, here it has been compressed into an oblong oval. That being said, the present map offers considerable unique new detail regarding roads, church construction, towns, and the locations of specific buildings not evident on any earlier map, suggesting unknown contemporaneous sources.

Publication History and Census

This map was made to illustrate Historia política de los Establecimientos Ultramarinos de las Naciones Europeas, published in Madrid between 1784 and 1790. This map appeared in the final volume, published in 1790. No engraver is credited. The separate map is rare both in institutional collections and to the market with but a single example noted in the OCLC.