Vue De Cananor by Bellin, circa 1756

Vue De Cananor by Jacques N. Bellin, circa 1756

A very detailed mid-18th century view of this once bustling trade seaport city located on the Malabar coast of India. It was once the capital of a territory comprising most of the Laccadive Islands. Trade in the 18th century consisted of horses, almonds, silk, opium, sandal-wood, shark fins, etc.

Jacques Nicolas Bellin (1703-72) was an important French cartographer who spent over 50 years at the French Hydrographic Service and was appointed the first "Ingenieur Hydrographe de la Marine," and later in life "Hydrographer to the King." Bellin is best known for his high quality French sea charts and his finely engraved world maps for Prevost's "L'Histoire Generale des Voyages."