These charts were prepared for Laurie and Whittle's abridged edition of Robert Sayer's 'West India Atlas' published in 1794. The atlas, the brain- child of Thomas Jefferys, was first published in 1778, and designed to aid the highly lucrative sugar trade, which by this point accounted for around one-fifth of all imports to Europe, 80% of which was supplied by French and British colonies in the West Indies.

Unfortunately, Thomas Jefferys would not live to see the publication of his 'West Indian Atlas', and it was left to Robert Sayer who, in partnership with John Bennett, acquired his materials and published the atlas posthumously under Jefferys's name. The work was evidently a commercial success as there were five subsequent editions under the Sayer and Bennett imprint.

In 1794 an expanded and modified version with 61 plates was published under Sayer's sole imprint. In the same year Laurie & Whittle acquired Sayer's plates, and they published a further version with the same title page, but with their imprint.

The charts:
8. 'A Draught of the Bahias del Almirante named the Buccaniers Bocatoro'
9. 'A Draught of Blewfields lagoon on the Moskito Shore'
10. 'A Plan of Truxillo Bay, called also St. Giles's Bay'
11. 'A Draught of the Harbour of San Fernando de Omoa' - (Inscribed
"See Smith Speer page 29")
12. 'Plan of the Road and Port of La Vera Cruz'
14. 'A Draught of the Entrance of Mobile'
16. 'Plan of the Harbour of Pensacola'
17. 'A Plan of the Entrances of Tampa bay, on the West Coast of Florida'
18. 'Plan of Lucia Harbour and Mantega Bay'
19. 'The Harbours of Port Antonio, in Jamaica'
23. 'Plan of the City and Harbour of Havanna'
25. 'Plan of the Nuevitas Harbour in the Island of Cuba'
27. 'Plan of Barracoa in the Island of Cuba'
30. 'The Harbour of St. Yago in the Island of Cuba'
32. 'Petit Guave in the Island of Hispaniola'
33. 'Leogane and Port au Prince in the Island of Hispaniola' (Inscribed "Not
at all like")
35. 'A Plan of the Road of Port Paix in the Island of Hispaniola'
(Inscribed "London, printed for R. Sayer and J. Bennett, 53 Fleet Street, as the Act directs, July 1779")
36. 'A Plan of the Town and Harbour of Cap Francois in the Island of
St. Domingo'
39. 'A Survey of the West Road of Portico, named by the Spaniards
Aguada Nueva or New Watering Place' corrections in red ink
40. 'A Plan of the Forts and Harbour of San Juan de Portico' corrections in red ink
[with]: an office fair copy manuscript "Commissioner Caye Comfite in the Old shails of Bahama. Capt. Dundas"; pen and black ink and pencil on paper.