Maritime post routes between Corunna and the Caribbean as a Geographic Information System (Gis) model

Abstract

In 1764, the Secretariat of State created the Maritime Post in order to establish regular, reliable communications with the colonies in the Americas. This was the first in a series of decisive measures which advanced the spread of free trade. The new state service, which came under the Royal Treasury, was designed like a trade route in order to make it self-sufficient. It entailed sending a monthly packet boat to Havana, and from there, documents were distributed throughout the Americas. The logbooks kept by packet boat pilots provide a range of valuable data which make it possible to create a historical GIS.

Keywords

• maritime post boats
• logbooks
• historical gis