Maritime post routes between Corunna and the Caribbean as a Geographic Information System (Gis) model

Abstract

ABSTRACT:In 1764, the Secretariat of State created the Maritime Post in order to establish regular, reliable communications with the colonies in the Americas. This was the first in a series of decisive measures which advanced the spread of free trade. The new state service, which came under the Royal Treasury, was designed like a trade route in order to make it self-sufficient. It entailed sending a monthly packet boat to Havana, and from there, documents were distributed throughout the Americas. The logbooks kept by packet boat pilots provide a range of valuable data which make it possible to create a historical GIS.