1631 Mappa Aestivarum | A Mapp of the Sommer

This highly desirable map by John Speed focuses on Bermuda but also depicts parts of Florida, Cape Cod, Virginia including the colony of Roanoke, and Nova Anglia - New England. It also includes detailed information regarding the surveys accomplished by Richard Norwood in (circa) 1617. The map clearly illustrates the manner in which property of the Somer Isles Company was sold and registered to shareholders, by dividing the island first into parishes and further into thin strips of property covering the entire island. Each strip is named; numbered and outlined in colour according to the ‘tribe’ or group of investors of which individual purchasers were members. Parts of the island not divided into strips are labeled as ‘Part of the General Land’. An extensive key below the map lists the name of each individual, and is flanked by the crests of the Islands and the Crown. In addition to the survey information, the map also shows various structures of the settlements on the island, including