Carte des Indes et de La Chine

A stunning map, encompassing nearly all of Asia and combining the cumulative European geographic knowledge of the 17th century.

This large and detailed map covers the vast majority of Asia, east of the Caspian and Arabian Seas and including the Philippines, New Guinea, and other islands in the Pacific. The densely packed image was published by the foremost French cartographer, Guillame Delisle, and incorporates the latest in European regional knowledge.

Settlements are depicted using a variety of symbols; from the traditional cluster of buildings common on western maps to crowns in the southeast and yurts in Mongolia (Tartary). Trade routes and maritime navigational hazards are shown, reflecting the economic impetus of European exploration, and topography is depicted pictorially.

Numerous annotations and small details within the image add fascinating bits of information, such as the location of active volcanoes, the residence of the Grand Llama, ancient Christian monuments in China, and beautiful idolators living in the middle of Borneo. Of particular interest is the Terre D’Yeco in the far northeast.

Traditionally, Yeco (Yesso, Eso, Jesso, etc.) refers to the Hokkaido, which varies in size and appearance on western maps. Here, it is depicted as a large landmass north of Japan with the adjacent coastline left incomplete, perhaps alluding to a possible connection between the two. The accompanying note reads “we do not yet know if Yeco is in Japan or not.”

Overall, the map presents a fascinating contemporary look Asia from the perspective of a European in the early 18th century. It was published in Paris by Guillame Delisle in 1705 for inclusion in his Atlas de Geographie.