L’Asie

Uncommon separately issued French map of Asia from the late 17th century.

By the late 17th century, economic and religious motivations had largely prompted European cartographers to chart, with relative accuracy, much of the Asian continent. This map was issued in 1690 by Jean-Baptiste Nolin and is based on an earlier work by the influential Italian mapmaker Vincenzo Coronelli, who Nolin duly credits beneath the title. Other sources leveraged by Nolin are noted in the Avertissement near the bottom of the sheet.

Political organization, place names, and geographic features all compete for space in the cluttered interior of the image. Africa, which had not been mapped as extensively as Asia, is shown largely devoid of detail and instead features a legend identifying the symbols used for royal cities, islands, ports, capes, mountains, and more.