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A treasure map is a variation of a Map to mark the location of Buried Treasure , a Lost Mine , a valuable secret or a hidden locale . More common in fiction than in reality, "Pirate treasure maps" are often depicted in works of fiction as hand drawn and containing arcane clues for the characters to follow. Regardless of the terms literary genesis, anything that meets the criteria of a "map" describing the location of a " Treasure " could appropriately be called a ''treasure map''. TREASURE MAPS IN HISTORY Pirates Although buried pirate treasure is a favorite literary theme, there are very few documented cases of pirates actually burying treasure, and no documented cases of a historical pirate treasure map. One documented case of buried treasure involved Francis Drake who buried Spanish gold and silver after raiding the mule train at Nombre De Dios - after Drake went to find his ships, he returned six hours later and retrieved the loot and sailed for England. Drake did not create a map. Another case in 1720 involved British Captain Stratton of the ''Prince Eugene'' who, after supposedly trading —rum with pirates in the Caribbean, buried his gold near the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay . One of his crew, Morgan Miles , turned him into the authorities, and it is assumed the loot was recovered. In any case, Captain Stratton was not a pirate, and made no map.
Over the years many people have claimed to have discovered maps and other clues that lead to pirate treasure, or claim that historical maps are actually treasure maps. These claims are not supported by professional scholars. El Dorado
TREASURE MAPS IN FICTION Treasure maps have taken on numerous variations through literature and film, such as the stereotypical tattered chart with an over-sized "X" to denote the treasures location, first made popular by Robert Louis Stevenson in '' Treasure Island '' (1883), a cryptic puzzle ala Edgar Allan Poe 's '' The Gold Bug '' (1843), or a Tattoo leading to a dry-land paradise as seen in the film '' Waterworld '' (1995). Literature The treasure map may serve several purposes as a plot device in works of fiction:
While Robert Louis Stevenson is associated with popularizing the treasure map—and the archetypal ''X'' to mark the spot—with 's earlier 1849 novel ''The Sea Lions'', is a tale that begins with the death of a sailor who has left behind "two old, dirty and ragged charts" which lead to a seal-hunting paradise in the Antarctic as well as a location in the West Indies where pirates have buried treasure, a plot similar to Stevenson's tale. Film In the 1985 film '''', a treasure map is made by criminals who are analogous to modern day pirates. In the film '' Waterworld '', an extremely vague and cryptic treasure map has been tattooed on the back of the child character Enola. This map leads the characters to dry-land, which in the context of the film, was a treasure. NOTES REFERENCES
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