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Old color example of this important chart of the Indian Ocean, illustrating the route of the Jesuit priest Guy Tachcard in 1697.
The map extends to show the Maldives, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), much of India, the flood plains of the Ganges River, Burma, and continuing around to Malacca on the Malaysian Peninsula. Shows most of Sumatra and names the Aceh region. Three insets detail the vicinity of Goa, the Port of Negrailles, and the Port of Mergui in Burma.
This richly detailed nautical chart illustrates the final voyage of Jesuit missionary Guy Tachard between 1696 and 1699. Dedicated to the French minister of state, the Comte de Pontchartrain, the map documents Tachard’s efforts to re-establish Franco-Siamese relations after the tumultuous events of the 1680s that culminated in the Siege of Bangkok and the Siamese Revolution of 1688.
Guy Tachard, a French Jesuit missionary and mathematician, was first sent to Siam (modern Thailand) in 1685 as part of King Louis XIV's diplomatic mission led by Chevalier de Chaumont. This mission aimed to forge an alliance with King Narai of Siam, bolstered by shared interests in commerce and Catholicism. Tachard returned in 1687 during a second mission, alongside General Desfarges, and was tasked with strengthening this alliance. However, the political landscape of Siam dramatically shifted following the death of King Narai and the ascension of King Phetracha, who expelled the French after a violent anti-foreign revolt known as the Siamese Revolution of 1688.
The aftermath of the revolution left Franco-Siamese relations fractured. For nearly a decade, French influence in Siam remained minimal, until renewed efforts in the 1690s sought to repair these diplomatic ties. Guy Tachard embarked on his third and final voyage to Southeast Asia in 1696, with instructions to reopen trade and reestablish political rapport with Siam.
This map captures Tachard’s route over four significant voyages: the Voyage de Suratte à Bengale en Avril 1696, the Voyage de Mergui à Bengale en Avril 1697, the Voyage de Bengale à Mergui en Novembre 1697, and finally the Voyage de Mergui à Ponticheri en Avril 1699. The geographic scope spans from Surat on India’s western coast, across the Bay of Bengal, to the strategic trading hub of Mergui (Myeik), a coastal town then under Siamese influence, and finally the return to Pondicherry, the French stronghold in India. Insets provide detailed navigational charts of critical ports, such as Goa, Mergui, and Negrai.
Tachard’s presence in Mergui is particularly noteworthy. The port had been a focal point of Franco-Siamese trade ambitions during the 1680s, and its inclusion on this map underscores its continued strategic importance to French commercial and political endeavors. His return to Mergui in 1697 aimed to negotiate trade agreements and rebuild trust with Siamese authorities
Tachard’s third voyage unfolded in the context of sustained French diplomatic efforts to regain influence in Southeast Asia. By the time of his 1696 departure, Siam’s hostility toward European powers had eased somewhat, allowing the French to attempt renewed engagement. However, these efforts faced numerous challenges, including resistance from local Siamese officials wary of European dominance and the complexities of competing Dutch and English interests in the region.
Guy Tachard
Guy Tachard (1651-1712), was a Jesuit missionary and mathematician, who made 2 embassy's to the Kingdom of Siam for King Louis XIV. Tachard was first sent to Siam in 1685 with five other Jesuits under Superior Jean de Fontaney, on an embassy to Siam led by Chevalier de Chaumont and François-Timoléon de Choisy, and accompanied by Claude de Forbin. The objective of the Jesuits was to complete a scientific expedition to the Indies and China. Enticed by the Greek Constantine Phaulkon, he returned to France to suggest an alliance with the king of Siam Narai to Louis XIV.
The two ships of the embassy returned to France with a Siamese embassy, led by the Siamese ambassador Kosa Pan, who was bringing a proposal for an eternal alliance between France and Siam. The embassy stayed in France from June 1686 to March 1687.
Tachard joined second embassy to Siam in March 1687, organized by Colbert. The embassy consisted in five warships, led by General Desfarges, in part to return with the members of Siamese embassy. The mission was led by Simon de la Loubère and Claude Céberet du Boullay, director of the French East India Company. The disambarkment of French troops in Bangkok and Mergui led to strong nationalistic movements in Siam directed by Phra Petratcha and ultimately resulted in the 1688 Siamese revolution in which king Narai died, Phaulkon was executed, and Phra Petratcha became king.
Desfarges negotiated to return with his men to Pondicherry. In the later part of 1689, Desfarges captured the island of Phuket in an attempt to restore French control. Tachard, with Siamese envoys, translating the letter of king Narai to Pope Innocent XI, December 1688.
Meanwhile Tachard returned to France with the title of "Ambassador Extraordinary for the King of Siam", accompanied by Ok-khun Chamnan, and visited the Vatican in January 1688. He and his Siamese embassy met with Pope Innocent XI and translated Narai's letter to him.
In 1690, when Tachard tried to return to Siam, a revolution had happened, King Narai was already dead, and a new king was on the throne. Tachard had to stop at Pondicherry and return to France without obtaining a permission to enter the country.
In 1697, Tachard again went to Siam, and managed to enter the country this time. He met with Kosa Pan, now Minister of Foreign Affairs and Trade, and the new king Petracha, but the meeting did not result in any significant agreements.
Jean-Baptiste Nolin (ca. 1657-1708) was a French engraver who worked at the turn of the eighteenth century. Initially trained by Francois de Poilly, his artistic skills caught the eye of Vincenzo Coronelli when the latter was working in France. Coronelli encouraged the young Nolin to engrave his own maps, which he began to do.
Whereas Nolin was a skilled engraver, he was not an original geographer. He also had a flair for business, adopting monikers like the Geographer to the Duke of Orelans and Engerver to King XIV. He, like many of his contemporaries, borrowed liberally from existing maps. In Nolin’s case, he depended especially on the works of Coronelli and Jean-Nicholas de Tralage, the Sieur de Tillemon. This practice eventually caught Nolin in one of the largest geography scandals of the eighteenth century.
In 1700, Nolin published a large world map which was seen by Claude Delisle, father of the premier mapmaker of his age, Guillaume Delisle. Claude recognized Nolin’s map as being based in part on his son’s work. Guillaume had been working on a manuscript globe for Louis Boucherat, the chancellor of France, with exclusive information about the shape of California and the mouth of the Mississippi River. This information was printed on Nolin’s map. The court ruled in the Delisles’ favor after six years. Nolin had to stop producing that map, but he continued to make others.
Calling Nolin a plagiarist is unfair, as he was engaged in a practice that practically every geographer adopted at the time. Sources were few and copyright laws weak or nonexistent. Nolin’s maps are engraved with considerable skill and are aesthetically engaging.
Nolin’s son, also Jean-Baptiste (1686-1762), continued his father’s business.
