This is a hand-colored copper-engraved sea chart of Dunkirk by William Blaeu, a Dutch map maker during the golden age of cartography in the 16th and 17th centuries.Light browning at edges and tape on back.He was a student of the famed Danish astronomer, Tycho Brahe, and in1633 he was appointed map-maker of the Dutch East India Company, a trading arm ofthe Dutch government, and the map reflects the commercial history of the Netherlandsand the conflict with the Spanish monarchy in the early 1600’s. The Spanish king ruledthe northern and southern provinces of the Netherlands and Belgium in the 1600’s, thenorthern provinces revolted against his rule and eventually separated from the southernprovinces, and this led to the formation of an independent Dutch Republic. That is thehistory in this maritime map. During the Dutch Revolt (1568–1648), Dutch privateersraided other ships in the service of the Spanish king. They operated from different ports,including Dunkirk, so they were called Dunkirkers, and throughout the Eighty Years'War, the fleet of the Dutch Republic tried to destroy the Dunkirkers. That is what yousee in the map here. The mat has light browning on the outside edges. Sight: 20 x 30 in. Overall: 23 1/2 x 33 1/4 in.