Map of Bermuda

A map of Bermuda printed in Amsterdam in 1640 by the noted cartographer William Janzon Blaeu shows how Bermuda was divided among its shareholders, who are listed at bottom. After survivors of the 1609 wreck of the Sea Venture successfully made camp in Bermuda, the Somers Isles Company—a subsidiary of the Virginia Company—established a colony there.

In the cartouche at center, the figure of Neptune holds a trident and a bark, or small sailing ship. Beneath him is a Latin description of the map, which includes the information that Bermuda lies at the mouth of the bay of Mexico, 3,300 English miles from London and precisely 500 miles from "Roanoack … in Virginia."