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This is a finely detailed map of the harbor of Port Royal, now known as Annapolis Royal, located in present-day Nova Scotia, Canada.
The map appeared in Pierre François-Xavier de Charlevoix's Histoire et description générale de la Nouvelle France, published in 1744. This specific map offers a strategic view of the natural defenses, the river basin, and key geographic points of interest, such as "Le Fort Royal" and surrounding settlements along the river.
Charlevoix's work, commissioned by the Duke of Orleans, represents one of the most comprehensive accounts of early French exploration in North America. The map demonstrates the geographic knowledge of the time, reflecting the military significance of Port Royal as a fortified French settlement before its capture by the British and renaming to Annapolis Royal.
Port Royal was one of the earliest European settlements in North America, originally established by the French in 1605. The map captures not only the physical landscape but also the social and military aspects, such as forts, key buildings, and natural barriers, illustrating the importance of the area during the early 18th century.
Charlevoix’s larger work was instrumental in informing French and European audiences about the vast, largely unknown lands of North America. His detailed observations were used by later explorers and scholars, including Thomas Jefferson, who owned a copy of the Histoire and cited it as crucial reading for understanding North American geography and history.
Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was among the most important mapmakers of the eighteenth century. In 1721, at only the age of 18, he was appointed Hydrographer to the French Navy. In August 1741, he became the first Ingénieur de la Marine of the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine (the French Hydrographic Office) and was named Official Hydrographer of the French King.
During his term as Official Hydrographer, the Dépôt was the one of the most active centers for the production of sea charts and maps in Europe. Their output included a folio-format sea atlas of France, the Neptune Francois. He also produced a number of sea atlases of the world, including the Atlas Maritime and the Hydrographie Francaise. These gained fame and distinction all over Europe and were republished throughout the eighteenth and even in the nineteenth century.
Bellin also produced smaller format maps such as the 1764 Petit Atlas Maritime, containing 580 finely-detailed charts. He also contributed a number of maps for the 15-volume Histoire Generale des Voyages of Antoine François Prévost.
Bellin set a very high standard of workmanship and accuracy, cementing France's leading role in European cartography and geography during this period. Many of his maps were copied by other mapmakers across the continent.
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