Colonial-Era Spanish Compass Bearings
Spanish colonial texts commonly make use of directional terminology drawn from standard navigational directions used by ship pilots, and which are commonly illustrated in the compass roses shown on maps and atlases of the era The image below is adapted from the hand-drawn compass rose shown in the c1537 Espejo de Navegantes by royal cosmographer Alonso de Chaves, and shows the 32 most commonly used directional divisions. The table below lists common spellings and abbreviations in Spanish for these 32 directions along with English equivalencies, and the actual bearings in degrees and minutes.
Table of Colonial-Era Spanish Compass Bearings
Spanish |
Span. Abbreviation |
English |
Eng. Abbreviation |
Bearing |
norte |
N |
north |
N |
0º |
norte quarta al nordeste |
N4NE |
north and by east |
NBE |
11º 15’ |
nornordeste |
NNE |
north north east |
NNE |
22º 30’ |
nordeste quarta al norte |
NE4N |
north east and by north |
NEBN |
33º 45’ |
nordeste |
NE |
north east |
NE |
45º |
nordeste quarta al leste |
NE4E/NE4L |
north east and by east |
NEBE |
56º 15’ |
lesnordeste |
ENE/LNE |
east north east |
ENE |
67º 30’ |
leste quarta al nordeste |
E4NE/L4NE |
east and by north |
EBN |
78º 45’ |
leste |
E/L |
east |
E |
90º |
leste quarta al sueste |
E4SE/L4SE |
east and by south |
EBS |
101º 15 |
lesueste |
ESE/LSE |
east south east |
ESE |
112º 30’ |
sueste quarta al leste |
SE4E/SE4L |
south east and by east |
SEBE |
123º 45’ |
sueste |
SE |
south east |
SE |
135º |
sueste quarta al sur |
SE4S |
south east and by south |
SEBS |
146º 15’ |
sursueste |
SSE |
south south east |
SSE |
157º 30’ |
sur quarta al sueste |
S4SE |
south and by east |
SBE |
168º 45’ |
sur |
S |
south |
S |
180º |
sur quarta al sudoeste |
S4SO |
south and by west |
SBW |
191º 15’ |
sursudoeste |
SSO |
south south west |
SSW |
202º 30’ |
sudoeste quarta al sur |
SO4S |
south west and by south |
SWBS |
213º 45’ |
sudoeste |
SO |
south west |
SW |
225º |
sudoeste quarta al oeste |
SO4O |
south west and by west |
SWBW |
236º 15’ |
oessudoeste |
OSO |
west south west |
WSW |
247º 30’ |
oeste quarta al sudoeste |
O4SO |
west and by south |
WBS |
258º 45’ |
oeste |
O |
west |
W |
270º |
oeste quarta al noroeste |
O4NO |
west and by north |
WBN |
281º 15’ |
oesnoroeste |
ONO |
west north west |
WNW |
292º 30’ |
noroeste quarta al oeste |
NO4O |
north west and by west |
NWBW |
303º 45’ |
noroeste |
NO |
north west |
NW |
315º |
noroeste quarta al norte |
NO4N |
north west and by north |
NWBN |
326º 15’ |
nornoroeste |
NNO |
north north west |
NNW |
337º 30’ |
norte quarta al noroeste |
N4NO |
north and by west |
NBW |
348º 45’ |