Plan de Maye

Original engraved plan by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703–1772)

This finely engraved plan depicts Mayyazhi (also known as Mahé), taken from Jacques Nicolas Bellin’s Le Petit Atlas Maritime, first published in Paris in 1764. Situated at the mouth of the Mayyazhi River in southern coastal India, Mahé retains a significant French colonial heritage, visible even today. The colonial legacy is evident in this map, with several landmarks identified as belonging to the French East India Company, alongside notable structures such as a French church.

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin was a pivotal figure in 18th-century cartography, serving as Hydrographer to the French Navy and the first Ingénieur Hydrographe at the French Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine. Over a 50-year career, Bellin produced hundreds of maps and charts celebrated for their accuracy and functionality, setting a high standard in European cartography. His works included major sea atlases such as Neptune François (1753), Hydrographie Française (1756), and the comprehensive Petit Atlas Maritime (1764), featuring 580–581 finely detailed charts. Bellin also contributed extensively to Diderot’s Encyclopédie and Abbé Prévost’s Histoire Générale des Voyages. A child of the Enlightenment, Bellin prioritized scholarly precision and cited his sources diligently, distinguishing his work from the more decorative styles of earlier mapmakers. His contributions cemented France’s dominance in cartography and influenced his student, Rigobert Bonne, who succeeded him at the Dépôt.