Carte de la Cote N.O. de L´Amerique et de la Cote N.E. de L´Asie

Title

Carte de la Cote N.O. de L´Amerique et de la Cote N.E. de L´Asie

Description

Map shows the Bering Sea between America and Asia

ca. 1780

Artist

Benard (1734-1777)

Robert Bénard (1734 in Paris – 1777) was an 18th-century French engraver. Specialized in the technique of engraving, Robert Bénard is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopédie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751. Later, publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke reused many of his productions to illustrate the works of his catalog.

Historical Description

The Bering Strait is a strait of the Pacific, which separates Russia and Alaska slightly south of the Arctic Circle. The earliest reference of the strait were from maps from the Polo family; based on the adventures of Marco Polo. From at least 1562, European geographers thought that there was a Strait of Anián between Asia and North America. In 1648, Semyon Dezhnyov probably passed through the strait, but his report did not reach Europe. Danish-born Russian navigator Vitus Bering entered it in 1728. In 1732, Mikhail Gvozdev crossed it for the first time, from Asia to America.