1758 Bellin Map of Jamaica

Labels Trelawny and Accompougs Town, two settlements of descendants of escaped African slaves.

This is a 1758 Jacques Nicolas Bellin map of Jamaica. Incredibly detailed and beautifully engraved, each of the island's parishes is labeled. Roads are illustrated and the towns and villages are labeled, including Kingston. Myriad coastal locations are also identified, along with descriptions of the island, including a burned savannah, the 'Savannah of the Tranquil Man' ('Savane de l'Homme Tranquil'), and the Black Swamp ('Le Marai Noir').

The First Maroon War and This Map

The First Maroon War was fought between Jamaican Maroons (the descendants of escaped African slaves during Spanish rule of Jamaica) and colonial British authorities from 1728 until 1739 - 1740. The Maroons had established independent communities in the mountainous interior of the island and the Windward Maroons resented British attempts to conquer the island. Using guerrilla tactics, the Maroons inflicted heavy losses on the British garrison on Jamaica, and it was not until 1739 and 1740 when treaties were signed between the warring parties that respected Maroon autonomy. Maroon communities, including Trelawny and Accompougs Town, are labeled here, as is a 'new village of Blacks' ('Nouv. Village des Negres')

Publication History

This map was created by Jacques Nicolas Bellin and was published Volume 15 of Jean François de la Harpe's Abrégé de l'Histoire Générale des voyages

Cartographer

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 - March 21, 1772) was one of the most important cartographers of the 18th century. With a career spanning some 50 years, Bellin is best understood as geographe de cabinet and transitional mapmaker spanning the gap between 18th and early-19th century cartographic styles. His long career as Hydrographer and Ingénieur Hydrographe at the French Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine resulted in hundreds of high quality nautical charts of practically everywhere in the world. A true child of the Enlightenment Era, Bellin's work focuses on function and accuracy tending in the process to be less decorative than the earlier 17th and 18th century cartographic work. Unlike many of his contemporaries, Bellin was always careful to cite his references and his scholarly corpus consists of over 1400 articles on geography prepared for Diderot's Encyclopedie. Bellin, despite his extraordinary success, may not have enjoyed his work, which is described as "long, unpleasant, and hard." In addition to numerous maps and charts published during his lifetime, many of Bellin's maps were updated (or not) and published posthumously. He was succeeded as Ingénieur Hydrographe by his student, also a prolific and influential cartographer, Rigobert Bonne.   Further Details...

Condition

Very good. Even overall toning. Blank on verso.

References

OCLC 1105725066.