Partie orientale de la Terre ferme de l´Inde moderne/ Der orientalische Theil des vesten Landes in den ietzigen Indien

Title

Partie orientale de la Terre ferme de l´Inde moderne/ Der orientalische Theil des vesten Landes in den ietzigen Indien

Description

Map shows Thailand and the Golf of Bengalen with the indian Ocean

ca. 1684

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

The Thai may not immigrated to what is now Thailand until the 11th century. They established several kingdoms that were united in the centuries that followed. However, until the 19th century there was no national state of Thailand, but the many local principalities (Müang) remained and were only obliged to pay tribute to the rulers in the center. These networks of Müang dependent on a ruler are called mandalas. Their area of influence had no fixed borders, but could expand and contract again over time. During the colonial era, Thailand managed to maintain its independence and it developed into a modern central state.