Patrick Browne, A new map of Jamaica in which the several towns, forts, and settlements, are accurately laid down as well as ye situations & depts of ye most noted harbours & anchoring places... Engraved map on 2 sheets, dissected and mounted on linen, colored, 69 cm. x128 cm. London: Printed for & sold by R. Wilkinson, 58 Cornhill, and Bowles & Carver, 69, St. Paul's Church Yard, 1797. ©John Carter Brown Library, Brown University, Providence 02912.
This historical map of Jamaica presents shoals, soundings, churches, forts, and land estates. In the lower left, it includes a detailed plan of Port Royal. Geographic reliefs are depicted pictorially, and parishes are distinguished by different colors. Originally created in 1755, the map was corrected and improved until 1797. Its creator, Patrick Browne (c.1720-1790), was a native of Ireland. He resided with relatives in Antigua for a year in 1737 before returning to Europe to study medicine in Paris, where he graduated in 1742. In 1756, Browne published The Civil and Natural History of Jamaica, a work that is considered significant in the field of botanical nomenclature, as it introduced new names for 104 genera.
This map exemplifies the era’s impulse to document, catalog, and classify aspects of the natural world, spanning both biological (botany and zoology) and geographical (physical, human, and technical) domains.
Belvidere is in the southeastern part of the island, within the Parish of Saint Thomas in the East. Three key details are provided: the estate’s name, Bellvidere; the indication of “sugar works,” represented by the illustration of a house; and the ownership by the Freeman family. Browne’s map serves as more than a geographic document; it is also a record of land ownership. In the modern context, land, along with everything within its boundaries, can be claimed and designated as property. Consequently, this map can be interpreted as an index of wealthy British settlers on the island of Jamaica.
Detail of a A new map of Jamaica showing Belvidere Estate (also known as Bellvidere). The map’s key indicates that the house is symbol for “Sugar Works.” ©John Carter Brown Library, Brown University.