CARTE PARTICULIERE D'UNE PARTIE D'ASIE OU SONT LES ISLES D'ANDEMAON, CEYLAN, LES MALDIVES

NON-EXPORTABLE

Map maker: Jaillot, Alexis Hubert, 1632 - 1712
Map maker: Mortier, Pierre
Map maker: Sanson, Nicolas (1600 - 1667)
Date: 1708
Short Title: Carte Particuliere d'une Partie d'Asie ou sont les Isles d'Andemaon,Ceylan, les Maldives. Publisher: Chez Pierre Mortier
Publisher Location: Amsterdam, Paris
Publisher: Chez Pierre Mortier
Publisher Location: Amsterdam, Paris
Map size- Height: 59.5 cm
Map size- Width: 87.5 cm
Paper size- Height: 63.5 cm
Paper size- Width: 91.5 cm

Full Title: Carte Particuliere d'une Partie d'Asie ou sont Les Isles D'Andemaon, Ceylan, Les Madives . . . [joined with] Partie Occidentale d'une D'Asie ou sont les Isles De Zocotora De l'Amirante. . . Publication Author: Jaillot, Alexis Hubert, 1632 - 1712
Publication Author: Mortier, Pierre
Pub Date: 1708

Exceptional old color example of the first edition of Pierre Mortier's fine 2-sheet map of the Indian Ocean and contiguous regions, first published in 1700.

The chart extends from Saudi Arabia and the Horn of Africa in the West to the Straits of Malaca, centered on India and Pakistan.

This is a chart of south central Asia, with specific mention of theMaldives and the Socotra Island. The chart extends from Saudi Arabia and the Horn of Africa in the West to the Straits of Malacca in the East. The map is centered on Indian subcontinent which is named Empire of the Great Mongol, and to India's leftis Safavid Iran, titled Empire of the Persians. The entirety of the land covered by the Map was at the time primarily Muslim.

At the time of publication, both the Arabian Peninsula and Socotra Island were under Ottoman rule. With multiple colonizers in India, the Maldives remained an independent trading state. The Maldives held importance due to their central location within the Indian Ocean, half way between Africa and the Straights of Malacca. The Maldives were a stopping ground for various traders, including those from Basrah who sailed to Sri Lanka or Southeast Asia.

Although The East India Company stationed a garrison on Socotra, the firm refusal of the Sultan to sell the island along with the lack of good anchorages fora coaling station to be used by the new steamship line being put into service on the Suez-Bombay route caused the British to leave in 1835. After the capture of the port city of Aden in 1839, the British lost interest in acquiring Socotra.

During the 1700s, India was a major interest for all colonizing powers, namely the French, the Portuguese, and the English. By the early 18th century, with lines between commercial and political dominance becoming increasingly blurred, a number of European trading companies, including the English East India Company, had established coastal outposts. The East India Company's control of the seas, greater resources, and more advanced military training and technology led it to become attractive to a portion of the Indian elite. These factors were crucial in allowing the Company to gain control over the Bengal region by 1765 and sideline other European countries.

A fine example of this sought after map.