1697 Coronelli Map of Madagascar and part of Southern Africa

This is Vincenzo Maria Coronelli's 1697 map of Madagascar. It is the most detailed of the 17th century maps of the island. While the southeastern portion of the island reflects the cartography of Étienne de Flacourt, who from 1648 to 1653 was French East India’s Governor of Madagascar, and who in 1658 published the first natural history of the island, this map includes detail beyond that which appeared in any of the French or Dutch maps sourced from Flacourt's manuscripts. Typical of Coronelli's meticulously researched work, the map provides a granular catalogue of the toponymy of the island's coastline. The interior has been broken into administrative regions and includes tribal names not present on any earlier printed maps of which we are aware.

Isle St. Marie

Just off the east coast of Madagascar lies the Isle St. Marie, also named Nossi Hibrahin and Isle d' Abraham on the map. First named Santa Maria by the Portuguese, it was the site of several failed attempts at settlement by the French and the English in the 1640s. This state of affairs would not last: by the time this map was produced, Isle St. Marie would become an infamous haven for English and French pirates preying on the ships passing to and from India. This map includes three settlements, including S. Marguerite.

It is notable that an indigenous name for the island appears here on the map. Isle St. Marie's Malagasy name is Nosy Boraha; Some sources associate the name 'Boraha' with a local legendary Jonah-esque whale incident, but more frequently the name is translated to 'The Island of Abraham.' The origin of the name is obscure, but the name appearing on the map, Nossi Hibrahin, tends to reinforce not only the association with Abraham, but the notion that the name was first applied to the island by Arabic traders, whom the Portuguese had taken pains to drive from the island, partly for reasons of religion and partly to remove competition in trade.

La Réunion

To the east of Madagascar appears I. De Bourbon, also named Mascaregne on the map, and now known as La Réunion. This island is shown on maps of Africa going back into the 16th century. The island was first named by Europeans Santa Apollonia, a name given by the Portuguese, who visited the island in the first decade of the 16th century. No attempt to settle was made then, but in 1638 the French claimed it, officially occupying it in 1642 (by marooning a dozen mutineers there.) The French would change the name to Île Bourbon in 1649, in honor of the French royal house. While the shape of the island is only approximate, its volcanic nature is revealed with the name Paese Incendiato. The island possesses one of the world's most active volcanoes, whose hundreds of recorded eruptions go back to the 17th century. The French East India Company would not seriously attempt colonization of Île Bourbon until 1665, two years before the publication of this map. The wealth of place names on the coast of the island here - much more than appear on earlier French maps of the region - suggests that Coronelli's source may have been positioned in or near the French East India Company.

A Remarkable Dedicatee

The curious reader is encouraged to search out an image of the bust, crafted by the artist Antonio Montaiuti, of Antonio di Marco Magliabecchi - the dedicatee of this map. The artist appears to have captured the spirit of this Florentine librarian, a formidable scholar and bibliophile as dedicated to learning as he was not to the tidiness of his clothes and the maintenance of his personal relationships. Among bibliophiles he was truly a giant, in that he was reputed to have actually read all the books he bought. And he bought many: his library consisted of forty thousand books and ten thousand manuscripts. He so valued his time reading that he would not take time to change clothes or even undress for bed. This eccentric figure was, despite the obvious, visceral challenges of associating with him, sought out by scholars from all over Europe for the depth and breadth of his knowledge, and it is plain that Coronelli valued his assistance greatly enough to dedicate this map to him.

Publication History and Census

There are only three examples of the separate map listed in OCLC; Harvard, the Bibliotheque National, and the Bayerische Staatsbibliothek. Coronelli's Atlante veneto is, however, well represented in institutional collections.