Conquer Club

Is it just me or do the ships look like they're sinking?

Nice looking map though edbeard. Two things that immediately stand out are sea routes and the legend. With the inclusion of British and Spanish fleets, it might be an idea to get some sort of theme going in your legend and perhaps even the title. There's nothing wrong with the title, I like the font, it's just a bit plain at the moment.

Bolded important thoughts/questions below.

Changed water texture

Combined North/South Cuba (moved Florida to Bahamas)

Moved a few army circles

Changed the water routes to white and blended them

Switched colours of Hispanola and Windward

Added names to the ships. 7/8 names are captains involved in the War of Jenkins' Ear I could only find 4 spanish captain names so the 5th someone else involved in the region at about the same time period

TO DO:

1. make ships unsinkable. I don't see how they're sinking but I guess they could look better. Maybe I'll increase the size of the bottom of the ships and add some water texture/waves hugging the bottom

2. Legend. I'm not sure what to do to make it better. Some ideas would be appreciated. It doesn't need to be awesome but less plain can't hurt.

3. Some of the water routes go into the circles. I'll leave this until I'm done with the routes entirely.

4. Bonuses could probably use some work.

5. Possibly moving Melchor de Navarrete East to connect with either the Windward or Leeward islands. (I'd move Blas de Leso West to compensate). Thoughts?

use different icons for the english and spanish ships to avoid confussion. i know the names already differentiate them but it's better to be sure.

DiM wrote:use different icons for the english and spanish ships to avoid confussion. i know the names already differentiate them but it's better to be sure.

the ships are different. also, they face different directions and Spanish names are clearly different from British in my opinion.

But, it is a good point. I might try to make them even more distinguishable.

edbeard wrote:

DiM wrote:use different icons for the english and spanish ships to avoid confussion. i know the names already differentiate them but it's better to be sure.

the ships are different. also, they face different directions and Spanish names are clearly different from British in my opinion.

But, it is a good point. I might try to make them even more distinguishable.

indeed they are different but it's barely noticeble.

looking good.

edit this is old now. changed a few more things. new picture below.

major overhaul on the legend
style, decided to just call ships british and spanish, added ships into the legend, outlines on words

changed british ships

I think that's it

edit: no more updates for a few days

edit2: i lied spruced up a few things. moved text in legend. made title look better (I like it simple though). made scroll ends match more with everything.

good to see all the feedback

decided to get the small version out of the way tonight




I'd to see people's thoughts on the bonuses and gameplay. Particularly on my idea of moving one of the Spanish ships to border either yellow or pink or both.

thanks.

The lines connecting Maracaibo to Valencia and Guiria to Trinidad don't seem as bright as the other lines.

Gozar wrote:The lines connecting Maracaibo to Valencia and Guiria to Trinidad don't seem as bright as the other lines.

All the shorter paths have this look for the most part, but they ARE the same. it's an optical illusion. I have made them slightly more visible though and will post it up when I make more changes.


edit: Decided to start on the XML just for kicks, any tips on knowing where my coordinates are?

whats the difference between the British and Spanish ships?

If there is a difference and I missed it, could you still at least make them different colors so they are easier to tell apart?

Yeah it is extremely difficult to differentiate between the two types of ships

Also, personally, I think the map is too zoomed in... I would like to see more coastline

I realize by me looking at it all the time, I already know how the ships are different. But, the ships have quite a few differences that are easy to see.

1. They face different directions
2. The flags are different shapes
3. The names by the ships clearly distinguish between British and Spanish

Regarding the zoom, I'm not going to change it. There's already a map (Caribbean Sea) that deals with the main continents. This map is about the Islands, so having more mainland does not make sense.

Questions

1. I realize this is premature, but I was bored so I did the XML and have added small and large w/ and w/out XML below. I have a question about this though. When I save the image I get from the website, it obviously only contains the army numbers, so when I add it as a layer, I'm not totally sure it lines up exactly where it did from the MapMaker webpage. Is there an easier way to do this?

2. Bonuses - what do you guys think? I realize graphics are very important, but I'm lacking feedback on the gameplay aspect. The map is very linear, I think it will be fun, but do you think I should alter anything. If I add other paths (see below) they might change obviously.

3. Paths - should I move a Spanish Ship to border Leeward and/or Windward ?

Should I make Robert Jenkins border Santiago?

Should I connect a Spanish Ship to Hispanola?


Changes

I did decrease the glow on the ships in the legend slightly (more so in the small) to make them easier to see.

I moved the water path to Barranquila. I moved Maracaibo's army circle in the small to match that of the large. This also allows the water path there to be more easily seen.

I think that's it.

the army circles could be a little smaller. but it's looking good

To answer your questions:

1. Take a screenshot of the website when it gives you the image. That way it shows both the army images and your map on top of each other in the exact way that it has on the website.
2. I say Bahama bonus should be 3. Hispanola 2. Venezuela bonus is perfect as is. Columbia is okay. Could be 2, but 1 is fine. Leeward should be 3, IMO. Windward is good as is.
3. Yeah, I think a Spanish ship over by the Lesser Antilles (Leeward + Windward) would be good.

No. Having a connection from the Robert Jenkins to Santiago would look ugly and clutter things up. Plus I see no real need for it.

I don't think it really matters if you connect a Spanish ship to Hisponola. I don't really care.

Change "Hispanola" to "Hispañola".

edbeard wrote:I realize by me looking at it all the time, I already know how the ships are different. But, the ships have quite a few differences that are easy to see.

1. They face different directions
2. The flags are different shapes
3. The names by the ships clearly distinguish between British and Spanish

I dont care. I dont want to have to think that much just to figure out what a continent is. at least make them different colors!

some things...

-hispanola text is kinda hard to read in the legend...i think its because its a little too dark blue.
-i think the two fleets (brit/span) are too similar looking...kinda hard to tell the difference...maybe have the ships look more different?
-id move the compass up a bit...center it between the legend and the 'de Galves' text.
-maybe soften the legend background a little? it looks a bit too crisp to me...
-maybe a connection between 'blas de lezo' and either la vega or puerto rico...itd make the map a little less linear....(possibly melchor to haiti instead)

just a few ideas, dont feel a need to accommodate them all...

edbeard wrote:I realize by me looking at it all the time, I already know how the ships are different. But, the ships have quite a few differences that are easy to see.

1. They face different directions
2. The flags are different shapes
3. The names by the ships clearly distinguish between British and Spanish

Even though you do come up with these points, a person who is newly playing the map will be severely confused. You should do soemthing different that is obvious, like colour wise

Nice map!

However, Bahamas look like they have too small a bonus... 6 territories, 3 borders, bonus of 2, unless I'm mistaken? I'd think bonus of 3 would be warranted, maybe a bonus of 4 if it has a lot of attack routes.

I think you should make the bonus for bahamas 3 and hispanola 2. Because hispanola has fewer territories and less attack routes.

2nd edit: note made some changes real quick, picture at bottom. old url is up though.

changed hispanoila to espanola. that's the spanish name. also made it a lighter blue.

added flags next to ships

moved 2 of the spanish ships to connect it to both leeward and windward.

made the bonus match with current attack routes. though spanish might be worth 5 more than 4?

http://i140.photobucket.com/albums/r4/runthemover/caribbeanislandsoverhaul18.jpg


edit: I realize it all looks cluttered, I'm still working on that. maybe smaller flags

2nd edit: made the flags smaller

just cleaned up a few things


especially like input on bonuses. I don't think spanish and cuba should have the same bonus. maybe cuba at 3.

I have a big problem with Cuba. When it was split in two, there was not a big problem with it's linear nature, but now as one big nation it doesn't work in my opinion.

I can see a few solutions which I might make a poll out of tonight/tomorrow.

1. Split Cuba back up and possibly merge a different area of the map. (though I can't really see anywhere that makes more sense to merge or at least where it would improve gameplay)

2. Change ocean routes to force different areas to be protected.

3. Merge two territories in Cuba and add another ship (also requires more ocean routes)

4. Make Jamaica part of Espanola and connect it to Haiti obviously

What do you guys think?

Changes
made jamaica part of espanola

changed a few of the water routes in that area. added some and resized others.

Changed the legend colour to be a bit less intense.

Questions
should I get rid of some water routes in the espanola, cuba, bahamas area (right where they all meet)?

what do you think of the bonuses?
edit: Leeward definitely worth 4, Spanish probably worth 6

Any other problems? Comments? Questions?





I love the vote % but I dislike the lack of posts! Hopefully I start getting feedback. I don't want to have 5 straight posts in this thread. Otherwise I might have to take the hint and stop wasting my time

resized army circles. updated the bonuses. small and large with xml. sorry for posting it, but I don't know a website where I can upload files.

Code: Select all

<map>
<title>Caribbean Islands</title>
<smallwidth>545</smallwidth>
<smallheight>400</smallheight>
<largewidth>750</largewidth>
<largeheight>550</largeheight>
<filetype>jpg</filetype>
-
   <continent>
<name>Cuba</name>
<bonus>4</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>La Habana</component>
<component>Guines</component>
<component>Placetas</component>
<component>Las Tunas</component>
<component>Bayamo</component>
<component>Holquin</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <continent>
<name>Bahamas</name>
<bonus>3</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Florida</component>
<component>Andros</component>
<component>Long</component>
<component>Calicos</component>
<component>Crooked</component>
<component>Turks</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <continent>
<name>Venezuela</name>
<bonus>3</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Valencia</component>
<component>Aruba</component>
<component>Caracas</component>
<component>Guiria</component>
<component>Margarita</component>
<component>Trinidad and Tobago</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <continent>
<name>Columbia</name>
<bonus>1</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Barranquila</component>
<component>Maracaibo</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <continent>
<name>Espanola</name>
<bonus>3</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Haiti</component>
<component>La Vega</component>
<component>Santiago</component>
<component>Jamaica</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <continent>
<name>Leeward</name>
<bonus>4</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Puerto Rico</component>
<component>St. Thomas</component>
<component>St. Croix</component>
<component>Antigua</component>
<component>Guadeloupe</component>
<component>Dominica</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
<continent>
<name>Windward</name>
<bonus>2</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Martinique</component>
<component>Kingstown</component>
<component>Barbados</component>
<component>Grenada</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
<continent>
<name>Spanish</name>
<bonus>5</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>Carlos Des Naux</component>
<component>Sebastian  de Eslava</component>
<component>Melchor de Navarrete</component>
<component>Bernardo de Galvez</component>
<component>Blas de Lezo</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
<continent>
<name>British</name>
<bonus>2</bonus>
-
   <components>
<component>George Anson</component>
<component>Robert Jenkins</component>
<component>Edward Vernon</component>
</components>
</continent>
-
   <country>
<name>La Habana</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Carlos Des Naux</border>
<border>Guines</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>31</smallx>
<smally>116</smally>
<largex>45</largex>
<largey>150</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Guines</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>La Habana</border>
<border>Florida</border>
<border>Placetas</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>71</smallx>
<smally>100</smally>
<largex>100</largex>
<largey>128</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Placetas</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Guines</border>
<border>Las Tunas</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>102</smallx>
<smally>111</smally>
<largex>141</largex>
<largey>145</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Las Tunas</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Placetas</border>
<border>Bayamo</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>125</smallx>
<smally>134</smally>
<largex>174</largex>
<largey>177</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Bayamo</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Las Tunas</border>
<border>Holquin</border>
<border>Jamaica</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>144</smallx>
<smally>155</smally>
<largex>199</largex>
<largey>206</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Holquin</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Bayamo</border>
<border>Turks</border>
<border>Haiti</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>175</smallx>
<smally>154</smally>
<largex>241</largex>
<largey>204</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Jamaica</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Bayamo</border>
<border>Haiti</border>
<border>Bernardo de Galvez</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>129</smallx>
<smally>199</smally>
<largex>179</largex>
<largey>265</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Florida</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Guines</border>
<border>Andros</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>86</smallx>
<smally>54</smally>
<largex>121</largex>
<largey>65</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Andros</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Florida</border>
<border>Long</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>135</smallx>
<smally>66</smally>
<largex>188</largex>
<largey>84</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Long</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Andros</border>
<border>Calicos</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>166</smallx>
<smally>67</smally>
<largex>230</largex>
<largey>83</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Calicos</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Long</border>
<border>Crooked</border>
<border>George Anson</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>188</smallx>
<smally>86</smally>
<largex>259</largex>
<largey>110</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Crooked</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Calicos</border>
<border>Turks</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>202</smallx>
<smally>116</smally>
<largex>280</largex>
<largey>150</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Turks</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Crooked</border>
<border>Holquin</border>
<border>Haiti</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>233</smallx>
<smally>131</smally>
<largex>321</largex>
<largey>173</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Valencia</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Maracaibo</border>
<border>Caracas</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>251</smallx>
<smally>345</smally>
<largex>347</largex>
<largey>466</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Caracas</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Valencia</border>
<border>Aruba</border>
<border>Guiria</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>301</smallx>
<smally>361</smally>
<largex>415</largex>
<largey>489</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Aruba</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Melchor de Navarrete</border>
<border>Caracas</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>262</smallx>
<smally>317</smally>
<largex>362</largex>
<largey>428</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Guiria</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Caracas</border>
<border>Margarita</border>
<border>Trinidad and Tobago</border>
<border>Grenada</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>368</smallx>
<smally>362</smally>
<largex>508</largex>
<largey>490</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Margarita</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Guiria</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>345</smallx>
<smally>336</smally>
<largex>477</largex>
<largey>456</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
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   <country>
<name>Trinidad and Tobago</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Guiria</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>417</smallx>
<smally>361</smally>
<largex>574</largex>
<largey>489</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Barranquila</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Sebastian  de Eslava</border>
<border>Maracaibo</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>159</smallx>
<smally>359</smally>
<largex>221</largex>
<largey>489</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Maracaibo</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Barranquila</border>
<border>Valencia</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>204</smallx>
<smally>357</smally>
<largex>282</largex>
<largey>483</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Haiti</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Holquin</border>
<border>Turks</border>
<border>Santiago</border>
<border>La Vega</border>
<border>Jamaica</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>215</smallx>
<smally>185</smally>
<largex>298</largex>
<largey>247</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Santiago</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Haiti</border>
<border>La Vega</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>247</smallx>
<smally>171</smally>
<largex>341</largex>
<largey>226</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>La Vega</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Haiti</border>
<border>Santiago</border>
<border>Puerto Rico</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>276</smallx>
<smally>191</smally>
<largex>382</largex>
<largey>254</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Puerto Rico</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>La Vega</border>
<border>St. Thomas</border>
<border>St. Croix</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>326</smallx>
<smally>199</smally>
<largex>450</largex>
<largey>266</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>St. Thomas</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Puerto Rico</border>
<border>Edward Vernon</border>
<border>Antigua</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>363</smallx>
<smally>186</smally>
<largex>501</largex>
<largey>247</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>St. Croix</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Puerto Rico</border>
<border>Antigua</border>
<border>Blas de Lezo</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>359</smallx>
<smally>218</smally>
<largex>495</largex>
<largey>291</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Antigua</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>St. Thomas</border>
<border>St. Croix</border>
<border>Guadeloupe</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>402</smallx>
<smally>202</smally>
<largex>554</largex>
<largey>270</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Guadeloupe</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Antigua</border>
<border>Dominica</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>402</smallx>
<smally>227</smally>
<largex>555</largex>
<largey>300</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Dominica</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Guadeloupe</border>
<border>Martinique</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>423</smallx>
<smally>245</smally>
<largex>575</largex>
<largey>331</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Martinique</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Dominica</border>
<border>Kingstown</border>
<border>Blas de Lezo</border>
</borders>
-
   <coordinates>
<smallx>429</smallx>
<smally>272</smally>
<largex>591</largex>
<largey>366</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Kingstown</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Martinique</border>
<border>Barbados</border>
<border>Grenada</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>417</smallx>
<smally>300</smally>
<largex>575</largex>
<largey>404</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
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   <country>
<name>Barbados</name>
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   <borders>
<border>Kingstown</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
<smallx>446</smallx>
<smally>294</smally>
<largex>615</largex>
<largey>397</largey>
</coordinates>
</country>
-
   <country>
<name>Grenada</name>
-
   <borders>
<border>Kingstown</border>
<border>Guiria</border>
</borders>
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   <coordinates>
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<name>Carlos Des Naux</name>
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<border>La Habana</border>
<border>Bernardo de Galvez</border>
</borders>
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<smallx>44</smallx>
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<largey>244</largey>
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</country>
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   <country>
<name>Bernardo de Galvez</name>
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   <borders>
<border>Carlos Des Naux</border>
<border>Sebastian  de Eslava</border>
<border>Jamaica</border>
</borders>
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<largex>118</largex>
<largey>331</largey>
</coordinates>
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   <country>
<name>Sebastian  de Eslava</name>
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   <borders>
<border>Bernardo de Galvez</border>
<border>Barranquila</border>
<border>Melchor de Navarrete</border>
</borders>
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<smallx>123</smallx>
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<largey>402</largey>
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   <country>
<name>Melchor de Navarrete</name>
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   <borders>
<border>Sebastian  de Eslava</border>
<border>Blas de Lezo</border>
<border>Aruba</border>
</borders>
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<largey>376</largey>
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   <country>
<name>Blas de Lezo</name>
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   <borders>
<border>Melchor de Navarrete</border>
<border>St. Croix</border>
<border>Martinique</border>
</borders>
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<smallx>331</smallx>
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<largey>354</largey>
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   <country>
<name>George Anson</name>
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<border>Calicos</border>
<border>Robert Jenkins</border>
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<smallx>276</smallx>
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<largey>90</largey>
</coordinates>
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   <country>
<name>Robert Jenkins</name>
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<border>George Anson</border>
<border>Edward Vernon</border>
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<smallx>378</smallx>
<smally>99</smally>
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<largey>128</largey>
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</country>
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   <country>
<name>Edward Vernon</name>
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<border>Robert Jenkins</border>
<border>St. Thomas</border>
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<smally>153</smally>
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