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This 1764 map by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin illustrates the coastal city of Oran and its surrounding area along the Mediterranean coast. Oran, located in present-day Algeria, was of strategic importance to France and other European powers due to its position along North African trade routes and its access to the Mediterranean. The map provides detailed views of Oran’s fortifications, key landmarks, and surrounding topography, underscoring the city’s military significance.
Key fortifications, such as Fort St. Philippe and Fort St. André, are marked to the west of Oran, while Fort de la Mona and Fort St. Grégoire are positioned to the east, protecting the city from potential sea and land assaults. A compass rose aids orientation, and the map includes a scale in lieue commune (a common French league).
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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