1744 Nicolas Bellin Map of Newfoundland

This is the 1744 Bellin map of Newfoundland, a keystone map that set the standard for the mapping of the island for the third quarter of the 18th century. Newfoundland commanded a strategic position at the mouth of the St. Lawrence River, but its importance as a fishery would resonate throughout the century. The map's scope encompasses not only the island but also its position relative to the Labrador coast and the codfish-rich Grand Banks, emphasizing those important points.

Coastal Detail Surrounding Gaps of Knowledge

Bellin's notations are refreshingly frank. A note indicates in French that 'the courses of the rivers, the bottoms of several bays, as well as the interior of the Island are entirely unknown.' The coastline itself is well-understood, naming bays, harbors, capes, and islands in profusion, both for Newfoundland and Labrador. However, the vast areas inland reflect the remoteness of these lands and the extent to which they remained to be explored.

The Source

Bellin prepared this map to be included in Pierre Francois Xavier de Charlevoix's (1682 - 1761) 1744 Histoire et description generale de la Nouvelle France, one of the most comprehensive works on North America predating the French and Indian War. Charlevoix was a Jesuit missionary and traveler commissioned by the French Crown and the Duke of Orleans to explore French holdings in the Americas, and this he did. Copies of the Histoire et Description Generale were found in the libraries of many 18th-century luminaries, including Voltaire, Franklin, and Jefferson. Jefferson particularly admired Charlevoix's work, calling it 'a particularly useful species of reading.'

Publication History and Census

This map, as well as Charlevoix's Histoire et Description Generale, are well represented in institutional collections.