Plan du Port de Ounting (Archipel Lou-Tchou) levée en Juin 1846, par ordre de Mr. le Contre-Amiral Cecille, commandant la division navale des mers de l'Inde et de la Chine, par Mm. J. de la Roche-Poncié, Ingénieur Hydrographe, X. Estignard et J. Delbalat, Sous-Ingénieurs à bord de la Corvette la Sabine, commandée par Mr.N. Guérin, Capitaine de Vaisseau. Dépôt-général de la Marine 1848. Gravé par Michel. Ecrit par J. M. Hacq. : [French composite sea atlas focusing on colonization in Southeast Asia]. : Plan du Port de Ounting (Archipel Lou-Tchou) levée en Juin 1846 ...

Nautical chart of the waters around the Port of Ounting on the Lou-Tchou (or Loo Choo) Archipelago [Ryukyu Islands], surveyed in June, 1846. Shows cities, ports, topography, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines, shoals, islands, depths and anchorage. Relief shown with hachures, shading and peak heights. Includes two bar scales and indications of the cardinal directions, as well as explanatory notes. With profile views: Directions à suivre pour entre dans le port de Ounting ... Also, with table: Table de réduction des Mètres en Brasses et en Pieds. Seal: Dépôt Général de la Marine. Black and white engraving. Map is 87 x 58 cm, on double sheet 93 x 64 cm. Created by order of Rear-Admiral Cecille, commanding the naval division of the seas of India and China, by J. de la Roche-Poncié, Engineer Hydrographer, X. Estignard and J. Delbalat, Assistant Engineers aboard the Corvette la Sabine, commanded by Mr.N. Guérin, Captain of the Vessel, at the Depot-General of the Navy in 1848. "No. 1176."

[French composite sea atlas focusing on colonization in Southeast Asia], published in Paris in 1843, with additions until 1855. Large folio bound in black-and-pink speckled board with contemporary red roan spine. Gilt ornamentation on spine. Atlas comprised of 36 plates (mostly double) with three celestial maps and 35 nautical charts, engraved or lithographed and mounted on tabs. Charts show countries, cities, roads, ports, deserts, bodies of water, drainage, coastlines, shoals, islands, depths and anchorage. A fine collection of charts issued by the Depot de la Marine with manuscript additions showing three voyage routes, including that of the Cléopâtre, a frigate which served in the French Asian squadron. Several of the charts show some of the first detailed surveys of parts of the Philippines and the Ryukyu Islands. This pioneering hydrography was overseen by Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cecille, commander of the Indian and China Sea squadron in the early 1840s, and Cecille is mentioned on several of the charts in the atlas. It was most likely a reference atlas compiled over several decades by Cecille or a colleague. The first maps were likely working charts, while the final charts - all commissioned by Cecille and conducted by his officers - were added as a retrospective portrayal of the Asian theater. The charts and the annotations tell the little-known story of a concerted effort by the French Navy to establish a colonial stronghold in Asian waters. The atlas was compiled over time. Charts range in date - of initial publication - from 1802 to 1855. The order of the charts shows a geographical progression from the Atlantic to the Indian to the Pacific Oceans, with large general charts followed by more specific charts of islands and archipelagoes. The final two charts are of the Pacific Ocean, and the atlas includes charts of the French coast, the Black Sea, the Caribbean Sea and a star chart. Charts were published by the Depot de la Marine, the hydrographic publishing and regulating institution of the French Navy. Five of the 35 charts include manuscript additions. The manuscript additions are on general charts showing larger maritime areas. Two of the five charts with manuscripts focus on the South China Sea and contain detailed additions to the rocks, shoals, and sandbars in the area. Three of the charts offer a detailed record of the voyages of three ships, which are color coded by route as follows: Isère (solid red line), Voltigeur (dashed red line), and Cléopâtre (blue line). Admiral Jean-Baptiste Cecille is deeply implicated in the atlas. Eight of the charts, which were added at the end of the atlas, were created on his orders and are based on surveys he and his officers made while in the South China Sea and the Philippines. These eight charts focus especially on the island of Basilan in the Philippines and the Lou-Tchou Archipelago, both places where the French, under Cecille, tried to establish colonial claims and trade centers in the early 1840s. These charts are the most lasting results of those efforts and were published soon after the colonization attempts, in 1848 and 1849. The inclusion of so many references to Cecille underlines his importance to French hydrography and to the French colonial empire in the nineteenth century, especially in Asia. The French East India Company was formed in 1604, two and four years after its English and Dutch counterparts, respectively. The Europeans were eager to gain access to the lucrative spices of the East Indies, and to the markets of China. In 1611, the first French ships sailed to Asia for trade and the first permanent French trade houses were established by the mid-seventeenth century. By 1663, French missionaries had ensconced themselves, however precariously, in Burma, Siam, and Cambodia, giving the French a stronger presence in mainland Indochina than any other European empire.  Jean-Baptiste Cecille was born in Rouen in 1787. He joined the French Navy as a young man and showed an aptitude for surveying. In 1837, he was given command of an exploratory expedition which was to circumnavigate the world. En route, he also assisted in a survey of New Zealand. By 1843, Cecille was in command of the French squadron in Southeast Asia, where he sometimes sailed in the Cléopâtre. Under orders from the French Foreign Minister François Guizot, Cecille was to enact a new Asia strategy aimed at arresting the progress of the British and breaking open trade to Japan. He was also to improve hydrographic knowledge of the area—a goal he accomplished, as evidenced by the charts in this atlas. This composite atlas captures an important, yet often overlooked, chapter in France’s imperial history. Whereas their involvement in Indochina, and especially Vietnam, is well known, their attempts to establish a trade center to rival Hong Kong has been largely forgotten. Additionally, the charts, covering several decades, reveal much about the operations of the French Navy in the early to mid-nineteenth century. (Historical notes from Barry Lawrence Ruderman; see Pub Reference field for further details.)

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