A superb, detailed sea chart of the Falkland Islands by Jacques Nicolas Bellin. The 1760s was an interesting period in the history of the islands. In 1764 Louis-Antoine de Bougainville settled Fort St. Louis in what is now called Berkeley Sound in the east and the following year the British settled Fort George on Saunders Island in the northwest. Further west the ‘Isles de Jason’ are identified, named after Captain John McBride’s voyage in 1765 in the ‘Jason’. The map itself is also partly derived from his manuscript chart of the islands. The route of his vessel is identified as is that of the French under Bougainville in the ‘L’Aigle’ and ‘Sphinx’ in 1763. In 1765 Commodore John Byron claimed the islands for Britain at Port Egmont. Two years later the French ceded their claim to Spain. In June 1770 Spanish forces expelled the British from Port Egmont but the following year yielded the islands to Britain.This detailed sea chart by Bellin is an example of the first state before the addition of the formal stamp of the ‘Dépôt de la Marine’ (French Hydrographic Office). Traditional rhumb lines are found along with numerous depth soundings to aid safe navigation. Safe anchorages around Saunders Island, Berkley and Carlisle Sounds. Profiles of the Isles Sebaldes are shown at the top. Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772) was one of the most important and prolific French cartographers of the mid-eighteenth century. The Dépôt des Cartes et Plans was founded in 1720 and the following year Bellin began working for them as the first Ingenieur Hydrographe de la Marine and became Royal Hydrographer. With access to the latest navigational reports, he produced a great many maps and charts of excellent quality compiling atlases of sailing charts for military and official use as well as for commercial publication. Fordham (1964) no. 17; Howgego (2003) M84; Sanderson (1971) NMM 210 no. 319; Rumsey no. 12059.120.