Literature: Mapping the Philippine Seas exhibition catalog, PHIMCOS 2017, page 58 - see https://www.phimcos.org/exhibition-catalog Reference: Walker, John. The Universal Gazetteer: Being a Concise Description ... of the Nations, Kingdoms, States, Towns in the Known World ; the Government, Manners, and Religion of the Inhabitants of the Different Countries. Darton and Harvey. 1975. Accessed January 27, 2020.

ABOUT THE WORK

Manila, the capital of the island of Luconia (Luzon), as well as the Philippine Islands is situated on a bay on the southeast coast. During the 1760’s, it contained about 3,000 inhabitants, exclusive of the Chinese community who lived in the suburbs. There were 15 other suburbs, inhabited by Japanese and nations of various mixtures. The streets were broad, but frequent earthquakes spoiled their uniformity. Intramuros, the citadel, was in the shape of a triangle, having one bastion towards the sea, another towards the river, and a third at the west point to cover the port, which only fits small vessels. In 1762, Sir William Draper led the British Invasion of Manila and demanded a million sterling ransom to save the city from destruction. The Spanish Court initially agreed but never paid it. This city map of Manila was dedicated by the Lords Commissioners of the Admiralty led by W. M. Nichelson with graphs indicating the water level and table of the number of armies and troops landed in the areas of Cavite and Manila under the command of Rear Admiral Cornish and Brig. Gen Draper. In his book, Philippine Cartography, Carlos Quirino commented that the chart “was not surpassed in accuracy for more than a century afterwards.”