Kaart van het Eyland Bali

First large scale map of Bali based on the surveys and manuscripts of the Dutch East India Company.
Francois Valentyn (Valentijn) was a missionary with several trips to the Far East to his credit. In total, he spent sixteen years in the Indies through several commissions, including one as a chaplain to an expedition to eastern Java. Upon his return to Holland, he was tasked with the authorship of a definitive history of the activities of the Dutch East India Company, the first time a work of this magnitude was allowed by the board of directors of this secretive body. As a result, it is believed that Valentyn obtained access to manuscript charts and geographical accounts held within the Company's archives. This ensured a new level of accuracy to the many maps and engravings present in the work. The whole history was published in 1726, in five parts and entitled "Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien".


This map is considered to be the first large scale map focusing solely on Bali. With characteristically expert Dutch engraving, it shows high ground, wooded areas as well as multiple coastal settlements on the southern peninsula. The northeast also shows detail of a large Bay, most likely the normal landing approach for V.O.C. ships.
[SEAS5139]