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This sea chart, titled Plan de la Rade de Gedda, située à la Côte d'Arabie sur la Mer Rouge (Plan of the Harbor of Jeddah, situated on the Coast of Arabia on the Red Sea), is from the Neptune Orientale, published circa 1775. The Neptune Orientale was a comprehensive maritime atlas created by the French Hydrographic Office, designed for navigators in the Indian Ocean, Southeast Asia, and surrounding waters. This chart reflects the cartographic precision and detailed hydrographic knowledge that characterized French sea charts during the late 18th century.
The map focuses on the port of Jeddah, a key gateway to the Red Sea and the Arabian Peninsula, known historically as the main port for pilgrims traveling to Mecca. The chart emphasizes the coastal topography, detailing numerous shoals, islands, and navigational hazards that mariners would have encountered when approaching Jeddah.
The chart includes rhumb lines radiating from several compass roses, a standard feature for sea charts of this period, facilitating the calculation of courses and bearings for navigation. The geographic features are outlined with delicate hand-coloring, typical of the fine craftsmanship seen in 18th-century cartographic works.
In the 18th century, Jeddah was a vital port city on the western coast of the Arabian Peninsula, serving as the main gateway for pilgrims traveling to the holy cities of Mecca and Medina. Established as a commercial hub since ancient times, Jeddah’s strategic position along the Red Sea made it a center for trade and pilgrimage throughout the Islamic world.
During the 18th century, Jeddah was under the control of the Ottoman Empire, which had ruled the region since the early 16th century. The Ottomans recognized Jeddah’s significance as a port and invested in fortifying the city, surrounding it with defensive walls and towers to protect it from naval attacks and local uprisings. These defenses helped Jeddah maintain its stability as a center of trade and pilgrimage in the region.
Jeddah's economy in the 18th century was driven by maritime trade, with goods flowing between the Indian Ocean, Africa, and the Arabian interior. The city was known for its bustling souks, where merchants traded spices, textiles, coffee, and other goods. Jeddah also became increasingly important as a stopover for Muslim pilgrims making the Hajj, leading to a diverse population as people from across the Islamic world passed through the city.
Jean-Baptiste Nicolas Denis d’Après de Mannevillette (1707-1780) was a French sailor and hydrographer celebrated for his excellently-rendered charts. Mannevillette was born into a maritime family and he joined his father on a French East India Company voyage to India aged only twelve. A clever boy, he returned to France to study navigation, chartmaking, and mathematics with Joseph-Nicolas De L’Isle. At nineteen, he was back at sea, working his way up the ranks of the French East India Company’s merchant fleet.
In his work with the company—he was eventually promoted captain—Mannevillette sailed to the Indian Ocean many times. En route, he was constantly gathering and correcting hydrographic knowledge. He was also skilled at using the latest navigational instruments, like the octant and later the sextant, which allowed him to make his charts especially accurate for their time. He compiled his work into his most significant publication, Le Neptune Oriental, which was commissioned by the French East India Company and first published in 1745. It was released in an expanded second edition in 1775, with posthumous expansions in 1781 and 1797.
The Neptune earned Mannevillette many accolades. The company made him Director of Charts at Lorient in 1762. In 1767, King Louis XV gave him the Order of St. Michael and named him an associate of the Royal Marine Academy.
