Carte de l’ Isle de Java

Title

Carte de l’ Isle de Java

Description

Chart of Java, with detailed representation of the coast lines.

ca. 1775

Artist

Mannevillette (1707-1775)

Jean Babtiste D´Apres de Mannevillette ( 1707-1780) was a sailor, Mathematician and hydrographer. His father captain in the " Camaigne des Indes" or French East India Company. Recognizing the poor quality of charts published for the route to the Far East thus far, Manvillette set out to upgrade them. During the mid 1730´s he collected data and updated charts which culminated in 1745 with the issurance of " Le Neptune Oriental" which comprised of 22 charts. This work was quickly recognized as beeing a great advancement over all earlier works. During the remainder of his life Manevillette continued to update and add new information and in 1775 isued an enlarged edition containing 63 charts. This new edition contained many chrats that were based on information collected by Alexander Darymple, a Scottish geographer and later the first hydrographer of the British Admiralty.

Historical Description

The island's exceptional fertility and rainfall allowed the development of wet-field rice cultivation, which required sophisticated levels of cooperation between villages. Out of these village alliances, small kingdoms developed. The chain of volcanic mountains and associated highlands running the length of Java kept its interior regions and peoples separate and relatively isolated. Java's contact with the European colonial powers began in 1522 with a treaty between the Sunda kingdom and the Portuguese in Malacca. After its failure, the Portuguese presence was confined to Malacca, and to the eastern islands. In 1596, a four-ship expedition led by Cornelis de Houtman was the first Dutch contact with Indonesia. In June 1619 the Dutch moved to Jakarta, which influenced them under the name Batavia to the center of the colonial empire in Asia. Realization of colonial rule also spread to Java. He was particularly significant because he was heard by many as a counterweight to the culture of European perception. On the other hand, the Dutch hardly attempted Christian missionary work. The Dutch use Chinese as traders and tax collectors, they concern each other incredibly in the social relationship. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Eligible State owned control of the colony. Since the administration was proclaimed, Java has been the center of the Republic of Indonesia with the state capital Jakarta.