"Plan de l'Isle Ste. Helene", Bellin, Jacques Nicolas

This copper-engraved map depicts the mountainous topography of the island along with bird's-eye plans of Fort James and a large garden simply called Jardins de la Compagnie. The map is adorned with a decorative title cartouche and a fleur-de-lys orienting north towards the bottom left. The island, named after Saint Helena of Constantinople, was first discovered by the Portuguese in 1502. The island changed hands several times between the Portuguese, Dutch and English, until it was colonized by the English East India Company in 1659 and became one of Britain's oldest colonies outside of North America and the Caribbean.

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Condition: A

Wide, original margins and light offsetting.