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This large French naval chart focuses on Hispaniola—then divided between the prosperous French colony of Saint-Domingue in the west and the older Spanish colony of Santo Domingo in the east—and its surrounding sea lanes, including the southern part of the Bahamas.
Bellin shows the entire island in remarkable relief: parallel hachures depict the Massif de la Hotte, the cordilleras of the northern and southern peninsulas, the Cibao Valley, and the rugged Sierra de Bahoruco. Coastal toponymy is dense, marking plantations, ports, and defensive works from Cap-Français and Port-au-Prince to Santo Domingo and San Juan de la Maguana. Soundings, shoals, and the sinuous coral reefs that guard the Gonâve Gulf and the Windward Passage ring the shoreline, underscoring the chart’s navigational purpose.
The map’s reach extends well beyond Hispaniola. To the northwest appear the Turks and Caicos and the Lower Bahamas—Great Inagua, Little Inagua, Hogsty, and the Crooked-Acklins group—important stepping-stones on the sailing route from the Windward Passage to Jamaica or Havana. The eastern margin captures the western tip of Puerto Rico, while the southwest corner includes the eastern third of Jamaica from Morant Point to Port Antonio. Even the extreme eastern headland of Cuba slips onto the sheet, framing the Windward Passage that funneled Spanish treasure fleets and, by the mid-eighteenth century, rival French and British men-of-war.
Bellin created the chart for the Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine, the French Admiralty’s cartographic bureau, and issued it “to serve the King’s ships.” A panel beneath the title notes a 1754 correction ordered by the crown, reflecting the Admiralty’s push to refine its West Indian portfolio as France and Britain edged toward global conflict. On the eve of the Seven Years’ War (1756–63)—known in North America as the French and Indian War—Saint-Domingue had become the jewel of France’s sugar empire, producing more wealth and attracting more shipping than any other colony. Precise charts were critical both for commerce and for the naval defense of these lucrative islands against British encroachment.
A marginal note invites captains to report new reefs, citing debate over the exact position of “Caye d’Argent,” a reminder that Caribbean navigation remained hazardous despite improved hydrography. In its combination of detailed coastal hydrography, boldly rendered interior relief, and coverage of the strategic passages linking the Atlantic and Caribbean, Bellin’s chart captures the geographic stage upon which the European powers would soon clash for dominance of the West Indies.
The Dépôt de la Marine, known more formally as the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine, was the central charting institution of France. The centralization of hydrography in France began in earnest when Jean-Baptiste Colbert became First Minister of France in 1661. Under his watch, the first Royal School of Hydrography began operating, as did the first survey of France’s coasts (1670-1689). In 1680, Colbert consolidated various collections of charts and memoirs into a single assemblage, forming the core of sources for what would become the Dépôt.
The Dépôt itself began as the central deposit of charts for the French Navy. In 1720, the Navy consolidated its collection with those government materials covering the colonies, creating a single large repository of navigation. By 1737, the Dépôt was creating its own original charts and, from 1750, they participated in scientific expeditions to determine the accurate calculation of longitude.
In 1773, the Dépôt received a monopoly over the composition, production, and distribution of navigational materials, solidifying their place as the main producer of geographic knowledge in France. Dépôt-approved charts were distributed to official warehouses in port cities and sold by authorized merchants. The charts were of the highest quality, as many of France’s premier mapmakers worked at the Dépôt in the eighteenth century, including Philippe Bauche, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Rigobert Bonne, Jean Nicolas Buache, and Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré.
The Dépôt continued to operate until 1886, when it became the Naval Hydrographic Service. In 1971, it changed names again, this time to the Naval and Oceanographic Service (SHOM). Although its name has changed, its purpose is largely the same, to provide high quality cartographic and scientific information to the France’s Navy and merchant marine.
