Emanuel Bowen, a London engraver and print and map seller, frequently embellished his maps with nautical and historical commentary. This map of the West Indies includes notes identifying the 1492 Columbus landing site in the New World and routes of the Spanish treasure fleets, the convoys of armed galleons and merchant ships that transported European goods to the Spanish colonies in America. The treasure fleets returned with colonial products, especially gold and silver, which made Spain the richest country in Europe. The convoys sailed annually from the mid-sixteenth century to late- eighteenth century.