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Scarce map of a charting of a section of the Ganges and Jumnah Rivers.
The Ganges is shown flowing from the Betoor area from Culpy on the Jumnah.
James Rennell (1742-1830) ,
Often referred to as "The Father of Indian Surveying," Rennell was a topographer was the East India Company from 1764 to 1777, and head of the survey of Bengal from 1767 to 1777.
His first job was assistant Draughtsman or Surveyor for Alexander Dalrymple's journey for the East India Company from Madras to the Philippines, in 1762-63. In 1764, he was recommended to the Governor of Calcutta and as an engineer officer in the Bengal army. His first task was to examine the rivers of Bengal and to navigate the waterways to Calcutta to join with the Ganges. In 1765 the Governor R. Clive commissioned him to produce a map of Bengal, and in 1767, Clive returned with an early draft of Rennel's cards back to England. After his appointment as Surveyor-General in 1767 he was in charge of the compilation of maps from photographs.
In 1777, Rennel retired ranked of a major and returned to England. He became a member of the Royal Society in 1784, and in 1791, he received the Copley medal. He was advisor for the East India Company, and "Counselor for all geographic questions. "
James Rennell, born in Chudleigh, Devon, England, in 1742, emerged as one of the most distinguished cartographers of his era. At the age of 14 he joined the British Navy as a midshipman, where he gained invaluable experience in marine surveying and hydrography during the Seven Years' War (1756-1763). This expertise led to his appointment at 24 as the Surveyor General of the British East India Company's territories in Bengal. Beginning in 1765, Rennell undertook the monumental task of surveying India, a region where the British East India Company had established its presence over a century earlier. Rennell's work was pivotal in mapping the Indian subcontinent, combining data from British Army expeditions with historical sources like the Ain-e-Akbari, a 16th-century Islamic geographic treatise. His approach included subdividing the country based on the Mughal provinces, or 'subas,' which provided a more detailed and historically grounded understanding of the region's geography. Rennell's contributions significantly advanced European knowledge of India, bridging the gap between the early days of British involvement in the region and the later colonial period under Queen Victoria.
