Prospect van het eyland, en de rheede van St. Iago geteekend van Johann Christian Friderici
Scope and Contents
This collection contains one watercolor view titled "Prospect van het eyland, en de rheede van St. Iago" [View of Porto Praia, Cape Verde]. The drawing, measuring 11.5 X 47.5 inches, is the largest recorded early modern panoramic view of Cape Verde. It was completed in 1783 by Johann Christian Friderici (1766-1804), a cartographer and lieutenant who worked for the Dutch East India Company in South Africa. It is the earliest known work by Friderici, completed a year before his permanent post in South Africa began. The scene is of the island's southern coast at its full length but at an angle that causes the harbor of Porto Praia in Santiago to be hidden from view. The port served as a transportation hub of enslaved African people to the Americas and as a place to restock ships with goods and livestock.
A panel on the left side of the panorama, adorned with a garland of leaves and an anchor hanging below, displays the title, artist, and date of the work: “PROSPECT VAN HET EYLAND, EN DE RHEEDE van St. IAGO. geteekend van Johann Christian Friderici. MDCCLXXXIII.” In English, this most likely translates to, “View of the island, and the roadstead of St. Iago. Drawn by Johann Christian Friderici 1783". The cartouche set to the right in the watercolor features an African family and examples of livestock. A woman carries a wrapped bundle on her head, smokes a pipe, holds her child's hand at her side, and carries another child on her back. A man to her left wears clothes seen in the depictions of plantation guards in the West Indies at that time, and carries a net and stick with a rope attached. A monkey perches above the title, and a goat and turkey are set in the background. The cartouche reads, "VERBEELDING van de Inwoonders op St. IAGO.” In English, this most likely translates to, “Depiction of the inhabitants on St. Iago”). Ten ships, British and Dutch ships indicated by naval flags, and others with unidentifiable flags, sail in the harbor. Near the shore, there is a rocky coastline, and, on the island, a farm can be seen as well as distant mountain ranges dotted with trees.
Sources:
Frederici, Lieutenant Johann Christiaan (surveying and cartography). S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. (2024, May 20). https://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/Biograph_final.php?serial=988
Frederici, prospect van het eyland, en de Rheede van St. Iago, 1783. Artem Rare Books. (n.d.). https://artemrarebooks.com/products/frederici-prospect-van-het-eyland-en-de-rheede-van-st-iago-1783?srsltid=AfmBOooJe-kJGwR0X32LqlThDIgpo_GjHy3VDhGCngvZWqLDrP7WvqRr
History of Cape Verde. Cape Verdean Museum. (n.d.). https://capeverdeanmuseum.org/history
Johann Christian Friderici (Heldburg 1766 - Cape Town 1804). Zebregs&Röell. (n.d.). https://zebregsroell.com/product/federici-drawing-of-st-iago-cape-verde-slavery-for-sale
Shaw, C. S., Bannerman, W. M., & Lobban, R. A. (2025, March 22). Cabo Verde. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Cabo-Verde
Visit Cabo Verde. (n.d.). Welcome to Santiago Island. Explore Santiago: Cabo Verde’s African Essence. https://www.visit-caboverde.com/en/islands/santiago-island
Dates
- Creation: 1783
Creator
- Friderici, Johann Christian (Person)
Conditions Governing Access
This collection is open for research use.
Conditions Governing Use
The Library believes that all or nearly all material in this collection is likely to be in the public domain, free of copyright restrictions. Visit our Permissions and Publishing page (https://www.library.virginia.edu/special-collections/services/publishing) for more information about use of Special Collections materials. The library can provide copyright information upon request, but users are responsible for making their own determination about lawful use of collections materials.
Biographical / Historical
Johann Christian Friderici was born in Heldberg, Germany in 1766. He worked for the Dutch East India Company (Vereenigde Oostindische Compagnie or VOC) and most likely completed this work while sailing for South Africa in 1783. In South Africa he was a military surveyor for the governor of the Cape at the time, Cornelis Jacob van de Graaff. Friderici produced a set of nine maps that would go towards forming a collection put together by van de Graaff. He is also known to have served in the Dutch East India Company as a cartographer and worked with J.W. Wernich, a German cartographer. He later served as a Lieutenant in the Cape Artillery in 1791. Throughout his time in South Africa, Friderici made many maps of the Cape. His most notable are "Kaart van de westkust tussen Saldanhabaai en Tafelbaai" [Map of the West Coast between Saldanha Bay and Table Bay] and "Caerte van den Zuydelijken oever van Afrika" [Map of the Southern Shore of Africa]. He married Sophia Maria Elisabeth Bauermeister and together they had three children: Johanna Cecilia Maria Friderici, Elisabeth Johanna Friderici, and Hester Sophia Friderici. Friderici died May 1804 in Cape Town, South Africa.
Cape Verde is a grouping of islands off the west coast of Africa. Port Praia is in Santiago, an island of Cape Verde. It is a country comprised of 9 inhabited islands [1 uninhabited and various inlets]. It is divided into The Barlavento Islands and the Sotavento Islands. Santiago is a part of the Sotavento Islands and the biggest island in Cape Verde. Discovered by Portuguese explorers in 1460 as an uninhabited island, Santiago was soon established as a key location for the transatlantic slave trade. Cape Verde would remain a Portuguese colony until independence in 1975. At the time this work was created, the island had two primary functions: it served as a hub for transporting enslaved people to the Americas as well as a place for restocking ships with goods and livestock.
Sources:
Frederici, Lieutenant Johann Christiaan (surveying and cartography). S2A3 Biographical Database of Southern African Science. (2024, May 20). https://www.s2a3.org.za/bio/Biograph_final.php?serial=988
Frederici, prospect van het eyland, en de Rheede van St. Iago, 1783. Artem Rare Books. (n.d.). https://artemrarebooks.com/products/frederici-prospect-van-het-eyland-en-de-rheede-van-st-iago-1783?srsltid=AfmBOooJe-kJGwR0X32LqlThDIgpo_GjHy3VDhGCngvZWqLDrP7WvqRr
History of Cape Verde. Cape Verdean Museum. (n.d.). https://capeverdeanmuseum.org/history
Johann Christian Friderici (Heldburg 1766 - Cape Town 1804). Zebregs&Röell. (n.d.). https://zebregsroell.com/product/federici-drawing-of-st-iago-cape-verde-slavery-for-sale
Shaw, C. S., Bannerman, W. M., & Lobban, R. A. (2025, March 22). Cabo Verde. Encyclopædia Britannica. https://www.britannica.com/place/Cabo-Verde
Visit Cabo Verde. (n.d.). Welcome to Santiago Island. Explore Santiago: Cabo Verde’s African Essence. https://www.visit-caboverde.com/en/islands/santiago-island
Full Extent
.5 Cubic Feet (1 Flat File Folder (Large)) ; Folder (Large --36 X48); item 11.5 X 47.5 inches
Language of Materials
Dutch; Flemish
Metadata Rights Declarations
- License: This record is made available under an Universal 1.0 Public Domain Dedication Creative Commons license. The Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library of the University of Virginia makes its bibliographic records and the metadata contained therein available for public use under the CC0 1.0 Public Domain Designation.
Immediate Source of Acquisition
Purchased from Artem Rare Books by the Small Special Collections Library at the University of Virginia Library with funds given by Murray F. Nimmo in memory of Gregg Ross Hopkins on 1 July 2024. Acquired by Krystal Appiah.
Condition Description
Fair. Pasted on a backing board and flattened. Original fold lines, pinholes, and minor water damage present.
Genre / Form
- Title
- Prospect van het eyland, en de rheede van St. Iago geteekend van Johann Christian Friderici finding aid
- Author
- Joseph Azizi, Archivist; Charleston Baker, Student Processing Assistant
- Description rules
- Describing Archives: A Content Standard
- Language of description
- English
- Script of description
- Latin
Repository Details
Part of the Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library Repository
Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library
P.O. Box 400110
University of Virginia
Charlottesville Virginia 22904-4110 United States