The Caribbean’s mythical Aves Bank

Abstract

ABSTRACT The Caribbean is littered with navigational hazards such as shallow coral reefs, rocks, and sand banks. As this region was of vital economic and strategic importance to European powers in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, it was mapped in great detail. Nevertheless, errors abounded, especially on early maps and charts, and even entirely fictitious topographic elements were introduced. One such cartographic myth is the Aves Bank, a long and narrow submarine bank that connected Aves Island with Saba and St. Eustatius. The Aves Bank myth was born in the 1720s and was quickly adopted by cartographers, who for over a century depicted it on maps and charts in various ways. This article explores how the myth was born, perpetuated, and eventually faded from existence. That the Aves Bank was more than just a cartographic curiosity is illustrated by the fact that it was used as an argument in a territorial dispute over Aves Island. The Aves Bank myth is peculiar given that the Caribbean region had already been well mapped by the time it came into existence. It thus shows that there is great potential for further research into the evolution of Caribbean cartography.