A rare, extra-large decorative nautical map of the Lesser Antilles or Windward Islands and vicinity, with an inset map of the city of Cayenne on the Island of Cayenne is located in the upper right, by J. Bellin.

This map shows the route between the island Martinique and the port of Cayenne in French-Guyana. It also includes an insert at the top right of the mouth of the Cayenne with soundings and sea banks to guide navigation.

This map was part of the Bellin’s second volume of his maritime atlas titled “L'Hydrographie Francoise Recueil des Cartes Generales et Particulieres”, which included maps of all coastlines known at the time. This work served navigation and was made for sailors, not private collectors. It went through several editions between 1737 and 1776.
In short, this map provides the most up-to-date information relevant to sailing the Atlantic Ocean between these two French colonies. -North is up.

Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772): French cartographer and engineer with the Departement de la Marine. Bellin worked for the Depot des Cartes et Plans de la Marine for over fifty years. In 1741, he was appointed ingenieur hydrographe de la Marine. Later, Bellin becomes 'Hidrographe du Roy' and a member of the Royal Society in London.
In 1764 he published 'Petit Atlas Maritime' in five volumes which contained several hundred maps. Among his other works are maps to l'Abbe Prevost's 'Histoire Generale des Voyages' (1746-1757). Bellin also produced many accurate and finely engraved separately issued maps.
The Dépôt de la Marine, known more formally as the Dépôt des cartes et plans de la Marine, was the central charting institution of France. The centralization of hydrography in France began in earnest when Jean-Baptiste Colbert became First Minister of France in 1661.
Under his watch, the first Royal School of Hydrography began operating, as did the first survey of France’s coasts (1670-1689). In 1680, Colbert consolidated various collections of charts and memoirs into a single assemblage, forming the core of sources for what would become the Dépôt.

The Dépôt itself began as the central deposit of charts for the French Navy. In 1720, the Navy consolidated its collection with those government materials covering the colonies, creating a single large repository of navigation. By 1737, the Dépôt was creating its own original charts and, from 1750, they participated in scientific expeditions to determine the accurate calculation of longitude.
In 1773, the Dépôt received a monopoly over the composition, production, and distribution of navigational materials, solidifying their place as the main producer of geographic knowledge in France. Dépôt approved charts were distributed to official warehouses in port cities and sold by authorized merchants.
The charts were of the highest quality, as many of France’s premier mapmakers worked at the Dépôt in the eighteenth century, including Philippe Bauche, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, Rigobert Bonne, Jean Nicolas Buache, and Charles-François Beautemps-Beaupré.
The Dépôt continued to operate until 1886, when it became the Naval Hydrographic Service. In 1971, it changed names again, this time to the Naval and Oceanographic Service (SHOM). Although its name has changed, its purpose is largely the same, to provide high-quality cartographic and scientific information to the France’s Navy and merchant marine.