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This 1744 map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin depicts the intricate Mississippi River delta and its entrance into the Gulf of Mexico. Created for Pierre François Xavier de Charlevoix’s Histoire et Description Générale de la Nouvelle France, the map is based on manuscripts from the French Navy’s Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine. Bellin’s work provided essential support for Charlevoix's account of French colonial territories in North America, focusing on navigational details and military presence in the region.
The map features key passages, like Passe de l’Est, as well as sandbanks and other hazards important for safe navigation. Fort de la Balise, prominently marked at the river’s mouth, underscores the French strategy of securing access to this vital waterway. A compass rose and scale in toises are included for navigational accuracy.
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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