Large copper-engraved map and sea chart of Jamaica, with
detailed rhumb lining.

The upper-right corner features a large decorative
cartouche, adorned with floral motifs, crediting the institutions and officials
responsible for the map’s production. The chart was originally drawn at the Dépôt
de la Marine, the official hydrographic office of the French Navy in Paris.
Its imprint appears as a stamp in the lower-right corner. Commissioned for the
French Royal Naval Service, the map was produced under the authority of Claude
Louis d'Espinchal, Marquis de Massiac, then Lieutenant General of the Naval
Forces and Secretary of State for the Navy. At the time, Jacques Nicolas Bellin
held the position of Ingénieur de la Marine and was attached to both the
Dépôt des Cartes et Plans de la Marine and the Académie Royale de
Marine; he was also a member of the Royal Society of London.

A second floral cartouche in the lower-left corner contains
a detailed note by Bellin outlining his cartographic method. He states that the
map is based on the most accurate English sources available at the time,
although inconsistencies among them required critical judgment and selective
correction. To demonstrate the island's wealth and importance, the map includes
a detailed accounting of dwellings across various districts, based on data
compiled by St. Patrick Browne in 1766, from field research conducted between
1730 and 1749. These dwellings are categorized by function: sugar production,
indigo or coffee production, churches, and taverns or inns. Individual owner
names, deemed both impermanent and uninformative, have been omitted.

Geographical features are color-coded: mountains in brown,
forests in green, and coastlines in red. The map also marks rivers, roads, and offshore
islets, with major ports and settlements clearly labelled. Later hand-colour.
[WIND2765].