Histoire naturelle des Indes

An extraordinarily beautiful portrait of the Caribbean as seen by Sir Francis Drake—in full-color facsimile.

By the end of the sixteenth century, Sir Francis Drake had made many voyages to the West Indies. He painted much of what he encountered although none of his own work survives. But he was known to have had French Huguenots on board, and from the hand of one, or more, came the watercolors and texts of an incredibly beautiful manuscript known as The Drake Manuscript or Histoire naturelle des Indes, presented here in full-color facsimile with English translations.

In addition to illustrations and descriptions of the plants and animals of the islands, this extraordinary manuscript depicts early European encounters with the people of the Americas. It was not the virginal world Englishmen expected, as we learn in Verlyn Klinkenborg's informative introduction, but one already shaped and overlaid by two sophisticated cultures—one Spanish and the other that of the now virtually extinct indigenous people referred to as "Indians."

199 paintings and texts document plants, fish, animals, and birds, as well as daily life and work among the inhabitants—everything from mining for silver and gold and diving for pearls, to wedding rituals and preparation for childbirth.