“CARTE DE CANAL DE MOSAMBIQUE...” Paris: Bonne, c. 1780. Fine engraved maps with later hand-coloring from Guillaume Reynal’s Atlas de toutes les parties connues du globe terrestre. Reference: Norwich # 173 – illustrated. (Image: 8 ¼ x 12 3/8’’)
These two maps on one sheet depict the southern portion of the continent of Africa, as it was known in the 18th century. The map on the right extends from the Cape of Good Hope to Zanzibar and modern day Kenya focusing on what was considered the gold-rich kingdom of Monomotapa which is part of present-day Mozambique and Zimbabwe. This is the region mentioned in the legend of King Solomon’s Mines (referred to in the Bible as Ophir) and one of the first regions colonized by the Portuguese in their quest to attain a source of gold on par with what the Spanish had found in Mexico and Peru.
Lake Malawi appears with no defined northern terminus.
On the right, arrows note the direction of trade winds.
The map on the left depicts the Dutch claims in western South Africa from the Cape northward to St. Helens Bay. Topographical features are shown with villages, mountains, waterways and forts located. Isle Robben (Dutch for Seal Island) is also noted which housed a notorious prison (and where Nelson Mandela was imprisoned 18 of the 27 years).
Rigobert Bonne (c. 1729 - 1795) was a well-respected cartographer who served as the French Royal Hydrographer, succeeding N. Bellin in that position. His principal interest lay in the production of marine charts, which were noted for their detail and accuracy.
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