Vue et Description de Surate et de Batavia

18th-century view of the capital of the Dutch East Indies.

This attractive print shows two important entrepots in the trade network of the Dutch East India Company. The upper scene presents a view of the city of Surat, situated on the banks of the Tapti River. A strongly-defended fort is clearly visible and several European ships ply the waters. Below is a simple plan of the capital of Batavia, modern-day Jakarta, about a century after it was first established by the Dutch. Again, a fort is present as an important extension of military power in the region. Surrounding text, in French, offers contemporary descriptions of each place. The caption for Batavia describes the city as a place populated by all kinds of nations, particularly the Chinese. A few decades after publication, much of the Chinese population was massacred during several weeks of ethnic killings.

The copperplate-engraved sheet was originally published in Paris as part of Henri Abraham Chatelain’s important Atlas Historique. This monumental seven-volume set was first issued in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720, but was re-printed in numerous in several subsequent editions until the late 1730s. The scholarly, but approachable, work was aimed at a broad audience, eager for new information during the Age of Enlightenment. The breadth of content offers of a nuanced synthesis of geography, cosmography, history, religion, ethnology, and political science. The descriptive text (in French) and skillfully engraved maps, diagrams, and illustrations provide a fascinating window into the world of the early 18th century.