Carte du Cours de la Riviere de Gambra ou Gambie

Map of the Gambia River according to explorations on behalf of the Royal African Company.

Though the title and language are in French, the information from which this map was created originally came from an Englishman. Captain John Leach led a party of explorers down the Gambia River in 1732 on behalf of the Royal African Company. The English enterprise established settlements and traded extensively along West Africa’s coast; including slaves, ivory, and gold.

It was the last that could be found in greatest abundance along the Gambia, whose course can be seen running between Eropina and it’s alleged source near Foleykunda. Depths within the river are provided in fathoms, while a handful of roads give approximate distances in miles. Company factories are marked as ‘comptoir.’

The map was created by Jacques Nicholas Bellin for publication in Abbe Prevost’s influential Histoire generale des voyages.