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Source Description
This map of the west coast of Africa was first engraved in 1738 by order of Jean-Frederic Phelypeaux, Count of Maurepas and Secretary of State under the French King Louis XVI. The map is a microcosm of African colonialism during this period; the Cape Verde islands were in the hands of the Portuguese, the Canaries were occupied by the Spanish, the French controlled Senegal on the mainland, while Morocco, incredibly, remained independent. With much at stake for the occupying power, accurate maps were of critical importance for navigators and politicians alike. The accurate placement of islands was especially important for navigation -- hundreds of ships had been lost on the rocks or islands that appeared where the ship's navigator did not expect them to be. Hence, the emphasis in this map on accurate longitude of capes and islands, and the legend in the lower right corner explaining the method used for determining latitude and longitude for particularly dangerous locations.
Scholar Source Context
Document identity
localId
x633f882f
label
Coste occidentale d'Afrique, depuis le Détroit de Gibraltar jusqu' au XIe dégré de latitude septentrionale
core
obj
dtoType
map
pageCount
1
Source metadata
id
x633f882f
contentType
map
stage
normalized
title
Coste occidentale d'Afrique, depuis le Détroit de Gibraltar jusqu' au XIe dégré de latitude septentrionale
description
This map of the west coast of Africa was first engraved in 1738 by order of Jean-Frederic Phelypeaux, Count of Maurepas and Secretary of State under the French King Louis XVI. The map is a microcosm of African colonialism during this period; the Cape Verde islands were in the hands of the Portuguese, the Canaries were occupied by the Spanish, the French controlled Senegal on the mainland, while Morocco, incredibly, remained independent. With much at stake for the occupying power, accurate maps were of critical importance for navigators and politicians alike. The accurate placement of islands was especially important for navigation -- hundreds of ships had been lost on the rocks or islands that appeared where the ship's navigator did not expect them to be. Hence, the emphasis in this map on accurate longitude of capes and islands, and the legend in the lower right corner explaining the method used for determining latitude and longitude for particularly dangerous locations.
date
["1738"]
year
1738
rights
No known copyright restrictions.
rightsUri
No known restrictions on use.
reuseAllowed
no restrictions
language
French
identifierLocal
05_04_000149
creators
Bellin, Jacques Nicolas, 1703-1772
institution
Boston Public Library
collections
Norman B. Leventhal Map & Education Center Collection
subjects
Africa, West--Maps--Early works to 1800
Atlantic Coast (Africa)--Maps--Early works to 1800
subjectsGeographic
Africa
West Africa
genreBasic
Maps
typeOfResource
Cartographic
thumbnailUrl
largeImageUrl
pageCount
1
source
import
pubPlace
Paris
publisher
s.n.
Source extras
institutionArkId
sf268508b
collectionArkId
41688024w
schema:latitude
14.533
schema:longitude
-2.316
extent
1 map : col. ; 20 x 25 cm.
notes
Relief shown pictorially.
Exhibited in “Faces and Places,” at the Boston Public Library, Boston, MA, October 2003 - September 2004. MB (BRL)
hasTranscription
no
dcId
x633f882f
type
map
Single page context
seq
1
pageIndex
0
type
photo
mediaId
e5d1026fd76027a7