1792 DE LA CONCEPTION, J. - Mapa De la parte de la Isla Formosa sa perteneciente al Emperadotde la China sacado por Ord. De S.M.

Extremely rare map of the west coast of Taiwan, the Punghu or Pescadore Islands, and the Fokien or Fujian coast of China. Several ancient Taiwanese cities are noted, including Keelung, Tainan, and what might be Kaohsiung.
Like most early maps of Taiwan, only the Chinese portion, west of the Central Mountain Range (Zhongyang Range or Chungyang Range), offers significant detail. Here the tribal lands east of the Central Range are not only neglected but fade into the unknown.
The title in Spanish translates to "Map of the part of the Formosa Island belonging to the Chinese Empire taken by Ord. By S.M".
Another curiosity is the cartographer's decision to ghost in an extended Taiwan coastline leading north of Keelung.

The map is from the unobtainable "Historia general de Philipinas. Conquistas espirituales y temporales de estos españoles dominios, establecimientos progresos, y decadencias" by Juan de la Concepcion.
The work was printed in Manila at "La Imprenta del Seminario Conciliar", during the years 1788-1792.
Juan de la Concepcion’s "Historia general" is, even today, considered to be one of the most comprehensive works on Filipino history, geography, and culture. It consists of fourteen volumes and was produced between 1788 and 1792.

This incredibly rare 14 volume work that was a monument of Filipino scholarship id one of grandest works of colonial publishing produced in the 18th Century.

The map appeared in Volume 2, opposite page 232, and was published in 1788. The Historia General was engraved by Cipriano Bagay and Felipe de Sevilla, with the present map of Taiwan being from Bagay's burin, as "C. Bagay Scul[pcit]" appears in the lower right of the map.

Although his work was consequential, not much is known of Cipriano Bagay. However, he was the son of Nicolas de la Cruz Bagay (1701-1771), the great native Filipino pioneer of printed cartography. Nicolas was born in Tambobong, now the municipality of Malabon.
Trained and educated by the Spaniards, he was a renowned native expert in engraving and printing, whose first work of significance was the engraving for Pedro Murillo Velarde’s Mapa de Filipinas (Manila, 1734), the first detailed map of the Philippines and arguably the most impressive work of cartography ever printed in the Spanish colonies. His name also appeared on a reduced 1744 edition of the Murillo map, printed with a copper plate.
Nicolas Bagay continued in the printing business for several years, his name appearing as the printer of many of the most important works published in the Philippines in the mid-18th Century. He was succeeded by his son Cipriano, one of only a few map makers to publish maps in the Philippines before 1800. It is estimated that no more than 20 maps were published in the Philippines prior to 1800.

The map is extremely rare. We know of no separate example of the map at auction or in a dealer catalog and only two examples of the Concepcion's book in the past 100 years at auction, none since the 1970s.

More about Taiwan or Ilha-Formosa maps. [+]