This German map of India and Ceylon (now Sri Lanka) illustrates regional European trade in the early 1730s. Elements of the map reveal the fierce competition among European trading companies for dominance over southern Asia at the time. Based on the maps of French cartographer Guillaume de L'Isle, this map was updated and published in 1733 by Homännische Erben, a firm founded by German cartographer Johann Baptist Homann.
Much of the text of this map is in Latin. The title in the lower left corner extols the Malabar and Coromandel coasts and the island of Ceylon with an illustration depicting the people of India with assorted fineries for European export. Dotted lines on the map represent the borders of independent territories throughout India. Trade sites belonging to England, Denmark, France, Holland, and Portugal are represented either by name, by the nation's flag, or by the letter indicated in the legend. Small crosses off the coastline indicate oyster beds; the note at the bottom of the map states that pearl-diving provided employment for as many as 60,000 men. |
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