Vue d´une Ville des Foulis et de ses Plantations, tirée du voyage de Moore

Title

Vue d´une Ville des Foulis et de ses Plantations, tirée du voyage de Moore

Description

Map shows the city of the Fuli in Senegal, above a banner with index.

ca. 1750

Artist

Schley, van der (1715-1779)

Jakob van der Schley (1715 -1779) was a Dutch draughtsman and engraver. He studied under Bernard Picart (1673-1733) whose style he subsequently copied. His main interests were engraving portraits and producing illustrations for "La Vie de Marianne" by Pierre Carlet de Chamblain de Marivaux (1688-1763), published in The Hague between 1735 and 1747. He also engraved the frontispieces for a 15-volume edition of the complete works of Pierre de Brantôme (1540-1614), "Oeuvres du seigneur de Brantôme", published in The Hague in 1740. Most of the plates in the Hague edition of Prévost's "Histoire générale des voyages" are signed by van der Schley.

Historical Description

In 1444, the first Portuguese ship reached the coast off what is now Senegal. The Portuguese were primarily interested in trading African gold, bypassing the Arabs. In the following centuries, the trade was carried on by lançados, descendants of Portuguese sailors and African women. Communities of Lançados existed in numerous places along the African coast; however, these were not initially colonies. Toward the end of the 15th century, a strong northern migration of Tukulor took place, finally destroying the state of Takrur and causing Jolof to break up into several kingdoms, namely Waalo, Cayor, Baol, Sine, and Saloum. These states were all unstable; nobles, kings, and members of the warrior caste of the old Mali Empire fought for influence.