De L´Asie isla de Samos

Title

De L´Asie isla de Samos

Description

Map shows the Greek island of Samos and its neighbouring islands in the Aegean Sea with title loop and sailing ships.

ca. 1683

Artist

Mallet (1630-1706)

Alain Manesson Mallet (1630- 1706 ) was a French cartographer and engineer. He started his career as a soldier in the army of Louis XIV, became a Sergeant-Major in the artillery and an Inspector of Fortifications. He also served under the King of Portugal, before returning to France, and his appointment to the court of Louis XIV. His military engineering and mathematical background led to his position teaching mathematics at court. His major publications were Description de L'Univers (1683) in 5 volumes, and Les Travaux de Mars ou l'Art de la Guerre (1684) in 3 volumes. His Description de L'Universe contains a wide variety of information, including star maps, maps of the ancient and modern world, and a synopsis of the customs, religion and government of the many nations included in his text. It has been suggested that his background as a teacher led to his being concerned with entertaining his readers. This concern manifested itself in the charming harbor scenes and rural landscapes that he included beneath his description of astronomical concepts and diagrams. Mallet himself drew most of the figures that were engraved for this book.

Historical Description

In ancient times Samos was an important trade center and of great importance for shipping. In the age of Hellenism, Samos belonged first to the dominion of Antigonos Monophthalmos, then to that of Lysimachus, and then for a long time passed to Ptolemaic Egypt, for which the island was an important naval base. With Antiochos the Great and Mithridates it fought against Rome and was united with the Roman province of Asia in 84 BC. Thus it was part of the Roman Empire. In 1475 it fell to the Ottoman Empire. Under Ottoman rule, the island was called Turkish Sisam adası. After the fall of Constantinople, Genoa could no longer provide security. Constant pirate raids and pressure from the Ottoman Empire caused Genoa to abandon many colonies and settlements in the Black Sea and Aegean, including Samos, in 1475. As a result, almost all the inhabitants left the island and settled in the Genoese colony of Chios, and in some cases in Asia Minor. As a result of the Russo-Turkish War, favorable conditions for shipping and trade were achieved in the peace treaty of Küçük Kaynarca. Merchants from Samos were able to trade the main products olive oil and wine first in the ports of Smyrna and Constantinople, later also in Russia and Egypt, and at the end of the 18th century also in Europe, mainly in France. Through contacts with European ports, merchants picked up and spread the progressive ideas of the Enlightenment and the French Revolution. In the late 18th and early 19th centuries, settlements that sprang up along the sea were oriented toward trade and the opportunities offered by their seaside location. One of these settlements was the port of Samos, where mainly merchants from the Ionian islands settled.