Nueva Cadiz is the name of an island off the South American coast, which was settled by the Spanish in the 1500s, and then abandoned a couple of decades later. Beads of this style were found on the island, which is how beadologists date this style of bead. Long squarish blue beads continued to be manufactured in Europe and traded around the world, especially Africa, for another 300 to 400 years. These beads probably date from the late 1800s. They are in great shape, which leads us to speculate that they were re-polished in the last 30 or 40 years. Each bead measures about 80 mm by 11mm. One bead is broken and some of the beads have dings or small chips, but you have to look for them to see them. The small bead is about 38 mm and has a small chip at one end. They are strung on rope and separated by small blue crow beads. These beads will be treasured by artists, collectors and lovers of blue glass.