[British Caribbean Colonies] Description Geographique des Isles Antilles Possédées par les Anglois

A handsome French atlas of the West Indies, with particular emphasis on Britain s lucrative Caribbean possessions at the height of the Seven Years' War. Produced amid intense imperial rivalry, the volume reflects the str. Quarto. Contemporary full mottled calf, red leather spine label. Spine gilt, with fleuron device repeated in five compartments. Edges dyed red. Covers with triple-rule in gilt. Marbled endpapers. xii,171 pages. With 22 engraved maps, plans and views (13 maps and 9 engraved views in the text) Some maps folding. Engraved title in expert facsimile on 18th-century laid paper, else a beautiful example in a handsome contemporary binding, internally crisp, the maps all in excellent condition. A handsome French atlas of the West Indies, with particular emphasis on Britain s lucrative Caribbean possessions at the height of the Seven Years' War. Produced amid intense imperial rivalry, the volume reflects the strategic and commercial intelligence sought by France and its Bourbon ally Spain as they contested British dominance in the region. The subsequent Treaty of Paris (1763) dramatically reshaped this geography of power: France ceded Grenada and the Grenadines to Britain but regained Guadeloupe and Martinique, while Spain, in exchange for the return of Havana and Manila, transferred Florida to Britain and received Louisiana from France.The atlas is the work of Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1702 1772), the preeminent French hydrographer of the eighteenth century. Appointed chief cartographer to the French Navy in 1721 and ing nieur hydrographe at the D p t des cartes et plans de la Marine in 1741, Bellin produced charts that combined practical navigational utility with a high degree of geographic synthesis.The extensive text describes the islands of Jamaica (with maps of the island, Port Royal, and Kingston and Port Antonio), Barbuda, St. Kitts, Nevis, the Virgin Islands, Anguilla, Antigua, the Lucayes (Bahamas), and Bermuda, including a map of each island. There are also nine views in the text, mainly showing coastal profiles as visual aids to sailors in approaches to the islands. The text also provides sailing directions for the islands and notes on the various bays, harbors, and settlements.The maps and plans are as follows:Gulf of Mexico and CaribbeanJamaicaPlan of Port RoyalPlan of KingstonKingston and Port Royal harborsPlan of Port Antonio and Saint Francois on the coast of JamaicaBarbudaAntiguaSt. KittsNevisVirgin IslandsLucayes (Bahamas)Bermuda.…