The God Culture Philippines Biblical History Library

Archaeological Evidence of Ophir’s Gold

In 1946, archaeologists discovered inscribed pottery shards referencing Ophir's gold...

The Deeper We Dig… The More Truth Surfaces!
Each map unveils another layer of suppressed history. With so much direct evidence, one must ask: Why aren’t these documented in modern textbooks? And how could scholars like Rebecca Catz justify guessing Ryukyu when the maps speak so clearly?

🔥 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 29, 2025

Silver Banks, Pinto's Shipwreck, and the Lost Ophir Isles

🔍 Introduction

For centuries, scholars have debated the true location of Ophir, the biblical land of gold. But a far more elusive clue may have gone unnoticed: the location of ancient silver mines. The late 17th-century cartographer Rigobert Bonne may have unknowingly preserved the trail in his elegant and precise hydrographic charts. His 1690 map clearly marks the "Silver Banks" (Bancos de Plata) directly west of the Bashee Islands—aligning perfectly with the journaled shipwreck of Fernão Mendes Pinto and numerous cartographic references to the elusive Isle of Silver (I. de Prata).

🗺️ The Cartographer and His Legacy

Rigobert Bonne (1727–1795) was no ordinary mapmaker. As Hydrographer to the King of France, Bonne succeeded the renowned Giovanni Rizzi-Zannoni and was responsible for some of the most technically accurate maritime maps of the Enlightenment. Bonne's meticulous application of physics and mathematics gave his charts a credibility often lacking in earlier maps built on speculation or hearsay.

📌 1. Silver West of Batanes? Bonne Says Yes!

On Bonne’s 1690 chart titled Carte des Indes en deça et au delà du Gange, he identifies the "Silver Banks" just west of the Bashee Islands (Batanes), which are themselves prominently labeled. This detail matches the precise maritime zone where Pinto wrote that his ship wrecked in pursuit of the five large islands, ruled by women, rich in gold and silver—known in his accounts as "Lequios" or "Lucoes."

📌 2. Tracing the Silver Isles: Insights from the 1780 Raynal & Bonne Map

In our quest to uncover the mysteries of the Silver Isles and the legendary Ophir, the 1780 map by Raynal & Bonne offers invaluable insights. This Enlightenment-era cartographic masterpiece not only continues the legacy of earlier maps but also highlights the Philippines' pivotal role in maritime history. The prominent arrows pointing towards the archipelago signify its importance in navigation, while the distinct color divisions in Luzon reflect the complex territorial understandings of the time. Moreover, the inclusion of islands like "I. de Prata" and "la Basse d’Argent" reinforces the enduring legends that have captivated explorers for centuries. This map serves as a testament to the Philippines' rich and multifaceted place in global history.

📍 3. From Prata to Argent: The Cartographic Chain

Bonne was not alone in preserving this trail. Multiple maps spanning the 16th to 18th centuries reinforce the presence of an island or islet of silver:

Gerard & Leonard Valk (1700) labeled the same zone as I. de Prata.

📌 4. Z. Chatelain (1719) equated I. de Prata with Isle d'Argent, showing linguistic parity between Portuguese and French labels for the same location. Notice they are War of I. de Vaif, The Five Isles in Batanes.

📌 5. De Wit (c. 1697) depicted Wateb in the same location as I. de Prata. This will be equated in later maps as the same with both labels together as the Isle of Silver. This is Pinto's legend continued through the ages whether at any point such cartographer was even aware of that origin.

📌 6. Janssonius and van Spilbergen (1640s) mapped five islands west of Luzon, some labeled Ilocos or Illecos, strongly aligning with Pinto’s five-isle narrative. Batanes is missing and Taiwan erroneously labeled "Lequeiope" or Lequios. This is still consistent with Pinto's shipwreck in Batanes, Philippines.

Bashee as the Anchor Point

The consistent anchoring of these silver-rich islands west of Bashee or Babuyanes suggests early navigators and cartographers were marking this region as the treasure-laden edge of the known East. Notably, this position is never Japan, and rarely Taiwan, despite later colonial attempts to shift Zipangu narratives northeastward.

Conclusion: Ophir's kin?

If Ophir was the land of gold, then these isles may be its silver kin, just as scripture specifies the Gold of Ophir with the Silver of Tarshish as isles in the same region with the same resources. The presence of gold is well-documented in Luzon, Cebu, Butuan. But these maps suggest silver, too, played a key role in the East Indies trade empire. Rigobert Bonne's royal precision lends weight to the idea that I. de Prata was no myth—and that the Philippines, not Japan, held the secrets European explorers truly sought. Indeed, this placement is fiction, but it is affirmats Pinto's account on credible maps. The Five Very Large Islands of Pinto would have to be the 5 major islands of the Philippines with coordinates to the West of Batanes which we have well laid out, even match in resources.

A Final Word: The Smoking Quill Lives

Each map is a page in the testimony of geography. Bonne's "Silver Banks" is not an isolated case but one node in a well-mapped pattern of evidence. It is time to smoke the quill and restore what colonial redirection tried to erase.

ADDITION:

🗺️ A Colonial Trail of Tears
The visual record of how truth was displaced, overwritten, and erased.

🎉 “The maps were never lost… only silenced. Now, the silenced speak.”

Cantino World Map

1502

[See above]

Lequios of Zambales at 17N. Affirmed within.

Jorge Reinel/Rodriguez Chart

1512

[Click Image for Blog Link]

"The Main Island of Lequios" is charted and noted geographically near Luzon, not near Okinawa.

Diogo Ribeiro Map

1527

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Locates Lequios near Luzon, reinforcing the Philippines as the center of early Southeast Asian trade routes.

Anonymous Penrose Chart

1535

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Lequios plotted between 17°–20° North Latitude, matching Northern Philippines, not Okinawa.

Santa Cruz Map

1539

[See above]

SPANISH GOVERNMENT MAP! Luquios as Luzon, Philippines With Visayas and Mindanao Charted With It.

Sebastian Cabot Map

1544

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Cabot's 'Canal of Lequios' flows into the West Philippine Sea, cementing Lequios’ geographic tie to the Philippines. 10-15N.

Lopo Homem Planisphere

1554

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Colonial Propaganda Begins! Homem still places Lequios closer to the Philippines; later maps begin shifting it northward under colonial reinterpretations.

Giacomo Gastaldi

1561

Lequios Canal continues to be recognized near Palawan, and labels North Luzon as "Cangu", the likely Zipangu of Marco Polo.

Italian Urbano Monti Map

1587

Canal route for major trade between Palawan and Borneo still referenced where Lequios Canal is on previous maps.

Spanish Maris Pacifici: Abraham Ortelius

1589

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Ortelius’ 1589 map silently reversed Portuguese propaganda by restoring the Philippines’ true heritage.

Mercator Map

1607

[Click Image for Blog Link]

The famous Mercator labels Batanes just South of Taiwan as Lequio Major where Pinto was shipwrecked.

Dutch Globe

1613

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Flemish and Dutch engraver and cartographer preserves Batanes as Pintos' location for Lequios while bending to Colonial pressure for Ryukyu.

Hondius, Jodocus, and Giuseppe Di Rossi.

1615

Batanes maintained as Lequio and Ryukyu as Lequi Grand.

P. Bertius Map

1627

Lequios Minor and Pequeno are both place in the Batanes Islands in the Philippines, while moving Lequeo Grande to Ryukyu in error.

Albernaz Map

1630

4 Maps include Lequios in one Atlas. All equate Batanes Islands, Philippines as Lequeo–3 of them as Grande (main) and 1 confuses it with Ryukyu. One can see the mindset waffling into Colonial propaganda.

Bleau Map

1640

The 5 Isles of Pinto's legend appear just to the West of Batanes defining it as Lequios. This same dynamic occurs on the:

1676 Speed Map

1700 Visscher Map

French Map

1752

Just west of the Bashee Isles (Batanes), the map boldly labels:

“Les 5 Isles” — The Five Islands

Relating the legend from Pinto's shipreck with Batanes as Lequios.

Spanish-British Map

1794

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Lequios River, Batanes as Pinto's Shipwreck, Five Isles, and the Final Blow to Ryukyu Theory.

Italian Map

1799

[Click Image for Blog Link]

Pinto's legend of The 5 Isles appears West of Batanes, as Lequios.

🪶 “History didn’t just speak — it sang… and the world finally listened.”

“The final page wasn’t colonial ink — it was joy, justice, and memory.”

Archaeological Evidence of Ophir’s Gold

Want Exclusive Research Updates?

The Deeper We Dig… The More Truth Surfaces! Each map unveils another layer of suppressed history. With so much direct evidence, one must ask: Why aren’t these documented in modern textbooks? And how could scholars like Rebecca Catz justify guessing Ryukyu when the maps speak so clearly?

🔥 THE SMOKING QUILL | May 29, 2025

Silver Banks, Pinto's Shipwreck, and the Lost Ophir Isles

🔍 Introduction

🗺️ The Cartographer and His Legacy

📌 1. Silver West of Batanes? Bonne Says Yes!

📌 2. Tracing the Silver Isles: Insights from the 1780 Raynal & Bonne Map

📍 3. From Prata to Argent: The Cartographic Chain

Bonne was not alone in preserving this trail. Multiple maps spanning the 16th to 18th centuries reinforce the presence of an island or islet of silver:

Gerard & Leonard Valk (1700) labeled the same zone as I. de Prata.

📌 4. Z. Chatelain (1719) equated I. de Prata with Isle d'Argent, showing linguistic parity between Portuguese and French labels for the same location. Notice they are War of I. de Vaif, The Five Isles in Batanes.

📌 5. De Wit (c. 1697) depicted Wateb in the same location as I. de Prata. This will be equated in later maps as the same with both labels together as the Isle of Silver. This is Pinto's legend continued through the ages whether at any point such cartographer was even aware of that origin.

Bashee as the Anchor Point

Conclusion: Ophir's kin?

ADDITION:

🗺️ A Colonial Trail of TearsThe visual record of how truth was displaced, overwritten, and erased.

1502

Lequios of Zambales at 17N. Affirmed within.

1512

1527

Locates Lequios near Luzon, reinforcing the Philippines as the center of early Southeast Asian trade routes.

1535

Lequios plotted between 17°–20° North Latitude, matching Northern Philippines, not Okinawa.

1539

SPANISH GOVERNMENT MAP! Luquios as Luzon, Philippines With Visayas and Mindanao Charted With It.

1544

1554

Colonial Propaganda Begins! Homem still places Lequios closer to the Philippines; later maps begin shifting it northward under colonial reinterpretations.

1561

Lequios Canal continues to be recognized near Palawan, and labels North Luzon as "Cangu", the likely Zipangu of Marco Polo.

1587

Canal route for major trade between Palawan and Borneo still referenced where Lequios Canal is on previous maps.

1589

Ortelius’ 1589 map silently reversed Portuguese propaganda by restoring the Philippines’ true heritage.

1607

1613

1615

1627

Lequios Minor and Pequeno are both place in the Batanes Islands in the Philippines, while moving Lequeo Grande to Ryukyu in error.

1630

4 Maps include Lequios in one Atlas. All equate Batanes Islands, Philippines as Lequeo–3 of them as Grande (main) and 1 confuses it with Ryukyu. One can see the mindset waffling into Colonial propaganda.

1640

1676 Speed Map

1700 Visscher Map

1752

1794

Lequios River, Batanes as Pinto's Shipwreck, Five Isles, and the Final Blow to Ryukyu Theory.

1799

Pinto's legend of The 5 Isles appears West of Batanes, as Lequios.

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The Deeper We Dig… The More Truth Surfaces!
Each map unveils another layer of suppressed history. With so much direct evidence, one must ask: Why aren’t these documented in modern textbooks? And how could scholars like Rebecca Catz justify guessing Ryukyu when the maps speak so clearly?

🗺️ A Colonial Trail of Tears
The visual record of how truth was displaced, overwritten, and erased.