A Plan of the Town, Mountain and Bay of Gibraltar (1712 -R.K.) (Approx. .500mm X 2020mm)
According to Dominic Winter Auctioneers in Cirencester:
The creator of this map 'R. K.' is believed to be Richard Kane. . . It is presumed that this drawing was executed by Kane on his way to Minorca (in 1712)
Possibly, but there are a few problems with this presumption, not least because Kane would have been fully preoccupied with his new position in Menorca in 1712. Hardly the moment to be poking his nose in the defensive affairs of Gibraltar.
The following time-line might explain explains why the date makes Kane’s involvement in ordering the plan seems a bit “iffy”.
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1662 - Born in Country Antrim as Richard O’Cahan
1680s - Joined a Protestant regiment raised to oppose James II's Catholic rule.
1688 - Anglicised his name to Richard Kane
1689 - Took part in Defence of Derry
1690 - Took part in Battle of the Boyne
1690 - Took part in Siege of Limerick
1702 - William III died – Queen Anne became Queen of England
1702 - The Duke of Marlborough took control of the army
1702 - Fought under Marlborough during the war of the Spanish Succession
1702 - ¬Severely wounded at the Battle of Blenheim.
1704 - Anglo-Dutch forces capture Gibraltar
1708 - British Capture Menorca
1710 - Queen Anne made him colonel of his own regiment of foot
1711 - Sent to Canada - Failed expedition under Gen. Jack Hill to take Quebec from French
1712 - Thomas Stanwix Governor of the Rock??
1712 - Kane sent to Menorca
1712 - Kane sent to Menorca
1712 - Stopped over at Gibraltar and ordered Map while stopping over on his way there??
1713 - Treaty of Utrecht signed
1713 - Earl of Portmore Governor of Gibraltar
1713 - Treaty of Utrecht signed
1713 - Earl of Portmore Governor of Gibraltar
1720 - Kane was appointed Lieutenant Governor of Gibraltar
1725 - George I ordered him to strengthen the defences of the Rock
1725 - George I made him colonel of a regiment (later the 9th Regiment of Foot).
1727 - Returned to Gibraltar from Menorca at the head of his own troops
1727 - Jasper Clayton appointed Governor (2 Feb)
1727 - Left for Menorca on 2 February 1727
1727 - 13th Siege started - 22 February 1727
1727 - 13th Siege ended (23 June 1727)
1733 - Appointed Governor of Minorca
Richard Kane
1735 - Made Brigadier General
1736 - Died in Mahon (31 December)
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Whether the map was ordered by Kane or not is beside the point. The fact is that in 1712, the British had hardly been in Gibraltar a decade after it had been captured by Anglo-Dutch forces in 1704. It was, in other words, a plan based on the Gibraltar they they inherited from Spain – possibly the first one covering the entire area from north to south - at any rate the only one I have come across.
1712 - Richard Kane’s Map of Gibraltar - The Captions
1725 - George I made him colonel of a regiment (later the 9th Regiment of Foot).
1727 - Returned to Gibraltar from Menorca at the head of his own troops
1727 - Jasper Clayton appointed Governor (2 Feb)
1727 - Left for Menorca on 2 February 1727
1727 - 13th Siege started - 22 February 1727
1727 - 13th Siege ended (23 June 1727)
1733 - Appointed Governor of Minorca
Richard Kane
1736 - Died in Mahon (31 December)
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Whether the map was ordered by Kane or not is beside the point. The fact is that in 1712, the British had hardly been in Gibraltar a decade after it had been captured by Anglo-Dutch forces in 1704. It was, in other words, a plan based on the Gibraltar they they inherited from Spain – possibly the first one covering the entire area from north to south - at any rate the only one I have come across.
1712 - Richard Kane’s Map of Gibraltar - The Captions