1745 Mannevillette First Edition Map of the Mergui Archipelago

This is the extremely rare 1745 first edition of D'Après de Mannevillette's groundbreaking chart of the Mergui archipelago on the coast of southern Burma. It is the first printed map to show the region in detail and to include evidence of firsthand navigation. For southeast Asia, in particular, Mannevillette's 1745 nautical atlas was 'immediately recognised as being superior to all previous maps of Southeast Asian coasts' (Suárez, p.238).

A Closer Look

Although the chart's title orients the reader to the north, the text within the body of the chart is oriented to the east, which for the purpose of reading the chart must be construed as its primary orientation. It covers the coastline of the Tenasserim region from Point Tavoy in the north to Isle St. Suzane in the south. Centered on the town of Mergui (present-day Myeik), the chart prominently presents the island of Kadan Kyun, here named Isle du Roy. Major islands at the rim of the archipelago are also named, such as the Island of Tenasserim and Isla Clara. The chart includes a series of coastal profiles intended to accompany the routes on the chart marked with depth soundings and anchorages. The routes in question run into the archipelago from the northwest, arriving at the anchorages at the Isle du Roy and Mergui. That there were more islands to the archipelago than he depicted, Mannevillette admits: this bank is filled with a quantity of islands, between which the small ships of this country pass to go to Junkseilon (Phuket), Achem (Aceh, on Sumatra) and other places in the surrounding area. Indeed, Malay and Chinese traders relied on the inner waters of the archipelago to avoid monsoons, while pirates and slavers relied on the archipelago because of the impossibility of charting and controlling it.

A Contested Frontier

The coastline and archipelago depicted here are now part of the southern extent of Myanmar. When the chart was made, most maps presented Tenasserim as part of the Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam; by the 1760s, it was captured by Burma. Great Britain would, in turn, capture the archipelago from Burma at the beginning of the 19th century.

A Censored First Edition

All maps from the 1745 first edition of the Neptune Oriental are as significant as they are rare. The atlas followed Mannevillette's 1728 voyage to China, wherein he corrected latitudes and made new charts along the route using the most up-to-date hydrographic instruments. When he returned to France, he devised a plan to publish new maps of the route to China, including charts of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, and the coasts of India, Malaya, the northern parts of Indonesia, Indochina, and China. His Neptune Oriental, published for the Compagnie des Indes (French East India Company), appeared in 1745 and features twenty-five groundbreaking maps. In reviewing the work, the French Admiralty considered the information to be so accurate and advanced over earlier charts that it threatened French colonial and maritime interests in the Far East. According to Filliozat, 'the French Admiralty considering that the Neptune Oriental was too dangerous... navigation ordered the remaining copies to be destroyed' (Filliozat, Manonmani, Indian Journal of History of Science, 292, 1994, p. 341). Consequently, despite much revised and expanded issues of the Neptune Orientale appearing in 1775 (fifty-nine maps) and 1775 - 1781, the important first edition remains exceedingly rare. While the 1775 edition is common, we note only three surviving examples of the 1745 edition in the OCLC.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Guillaume d'Heulland for the 1745 first edition of D'Après de Mannevillette's Neptune Oriental. Like all the maps from this edition, most examples were censored and destroyed. The map was replaced in the 1775 second edition of the Neptune Oriental with a completely new Persian Gulf map based upon the navigations of René Julien Le Floch de la Carrière (1730 - 1792). We see examples of the separate chart only at the Bibliothèque nationale de France. The full 1745 edition of the atlas is known at the Library of Congress and the Bibliothèque nationale de France.This is the rare 1745 first edition of D'Après de Mannevillette's groundbreaking chart of the Mergui Archipelago on the coast of southern Burma. It is the first printed map to show the region in detail and to include evidence of firsthand navigation. For southeast Asia, in particular, Mannevillette's 1745 nautical atlas was 'immediately recognised as being superior to all previous maps of Southeast Asian coasts' (Suárez, p.238).

A Closer Look

Although the chart's title orients the reader to the north, the text within the body of the chart is oriented to the east, thus its primary orientation. It covers the coastline of Tenasserim from Point Tavoy in the north to Isle St. Suzane in the south. Centered on Mergui (present-day Myeik), the chart also prominently presents the island of Kadan Kyun, here named Isle du Roy. Major islands at the rim of the archipelago are also named, such as the Island of Tenasserim, and Isla Clara. The chart includes a series of coastal profiles intended to accompany the routes on the chart marked with depth soundings and anchorages. The routes in question run into the archipelago from the northwest to arrive at the anchorages at the Isle du Roy and Mergui. That there were more islands to the archipelago than he depicted, Mannevillette admits: 'this bank is filled with a quantity of islands, between which the small ships of this country pass to go to Junkseilon (Phuket) Achem (Aceh, on Sumatra) and other places in the surrounding area.' Indeed, Malay and Chinese traders relied on the inner waters of the archipelago to avoid monsoons, whilst pirates and slavers relied on the archipelago because of the impossibility of charting and controlling it.

A Contested Frontier

The coastline and archipelago depicted here are now part of the southern extent of Myanmar. At the time the chart was made, most maps presented Tenasserim as part of the Ayutthaya kingdom of Siam. By the 1760s, it was captured by Burma, and in the early 19th century, Great Britain seized the archipelago.

A Censored First Edition

All maps from the 1745 first edition of the Neptune Oriental are as significant as they are rare. The atlas followed Mannevillette's 1728 voyage to China, wherein, using the most up-to-date hydrographic instruments, he corrected latitudes and made new groundbreaking charts. When he returned to France, he published the new maps, including charts of the Persian Gulf, the Red Sea, the coasts of India, Malaya, the northern parts of Indonesia, Indochina, and China. His Neptune Oriental, published for the Compagnie des Indes (French East India Company), appeared in 1745 and features 25 groundbreaking maps. In reviewing the work, the French Admiralty considered the information contained to be so accurate and so advanced over earlier charts that it was a threat to French colonial and maritime interests in the Far East. According to Filliozat, 'the French Admiralty considering that the Neptune Oriental was too dangerous... navigation, ordered the remaining copies to be destroyed' (Filliozat, Manonmani, Indian Journal of History of Science, 292, 1994, p. 341). Consequently, despite much revised and expanded issues of the Neptune Orientale appearing in 1775 (59 maps) and 1775 - 1781, the important first edition remains exceedingly rare. While the 1775 edition is common, we note only three surviving examples of the 1745 edition in the OCLC.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Guillaume d'Heulland for the 1745 first edition of D'Après de Mannevillette's Neptune Oriental. Like all the maps from this edition, most examples were censored and destroyed. We see examples of the separate chart only at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France. The full 1745 edition of the atlas is known at the Library of Congress and the Bibliothèque Nationale de France.