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This 1703 map titled Grande Baye du Plaisance is drawn from the reports of Louis-Armand de Lom d'Arce, Baron de Lahontan, a French explorer and chronicler of early North America.
The map depicts the Bay of Placentia (modern-day Placentia Bay) on the southeastern coast of Newfoundland, an area of significant strategic and economic importance during the 17th and 18th centuries. Under French control, the settlement was known as Plaisance and served as a critical hub for fishing, trade, and military operations in the North Atlantic.
The map highlights the bay’s rugged coastline, dense forests, and waterways, presenting a detailed view of the natural and built environment. It identifies key features such as the fort de plaisance (the French fort at Placentia) and a proposed redoubt, which underline the settlement’s defensive importance in the context of French-British rivalry in the region. The annotations also mark fishing grounds where cod (morues) were caught, navigational routes, and anchorages suitable for ships, emphasizing the bay’s role as a center of the French fishing industry and maritime activity.
Lahontan’s map includes symbolic illustrations of local wildlife and directional markers. It documents the French colonial presence in Newfoundland at a time when the region was frequently contested by British forces.
The map appeared in Lahontan’s Nouveaux Voyages dans l'Amérique Septentrionale (1703).
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