DESCRIPTION: French manuscript chart of the island of Diego Garcia. Diego Garcia, a coral atoll, is the largest and southernmost member of the Chagos Archipelago, in the central Indian Ocean.
Dated on or near May 2, 1809 when the French Governor of Mauritius Decaen granted rights over the island to Cayeux, the Didier brothers, and Lapotaire. Lapotaire was reported to have over 100 slaves working his copra plantation in 1809. The map clearly shows those three land holdings, with Didier at the southern end of the island. (Cawley, Charles. Colonies in Conflict: The History of the British Overseas Territories. Cambridge Scholars Publishing. 2015.)
"Portuguese explorers discovered Diego Garcia in the early 1500s. The islands remained uninhabited until the 18th century when the French established coconut and copra plantations with the help of slave labor. Diego Garcia became a possession of the United Kingdom after the Napoleonic wars, and from 1814 to 1965, it was a dependency of Mauritius."
(Source: https://www.cs.mcgill.ca)
PUBLICATION DATE: 1809
GEOGRAPHIC AREA: United Kingdom
BODY OF WATER: Indian Ocean
CONDITION: Good.
Remnant of binding strip at left. Generally clean with one spot of bleed-through from the verso.
COLORING: Hand color
ENGRAVER:
SIZE: 14
" x
20 "
ITEM PHYSICAL LOCATION: 200
PRICE: $975
ADD TO CART
|