Bowen's map of the Galapagos Islands, based on the earliest survey made by William Ambrosia Cowley in 1684.

Due to a lack of alternatives, this map has become famous as the definitive 18th century survey of the Galapagos Islands. By the early 19th century, other maps were available but it was the voyage of the "Beagle" in the 1830s and 1840s which provided a new set of charts of the islands which were ultimately immortalised by Charles Darwin in his "Origin of Species". 

Long before their fame, they were frequently used as a supply point by buccaneers and explorers of the Pacific. One of these was William Dampier and his cohorts, one of whom was William Ambrosia Cowley, who was the first person to compile a survey of the islands. 

A reduced version of this map appears in an account of Dampier's circumnavigation attributed to Hermann Moll. Bowen provided this map for an augmented edition of John Harris' "A Compleat Collection of Voyages and Travels", added a large cartouche and attributed the survey of the islands to Cowley. He also added a text panel on the lower centre, emphasizing their importance as a supply point. 

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