Jacques-Nicolas Bellin: Celebrated 18th century cartographer

During the 18th century, explorers took the lion’s share of fame with journeys that took them around the world and into unfamiliar, often dangerous territory.

Their voyages, however, would have been much more difficult without the help of the era’s rather less lauded stars — cartographers. And if there was a rock star among mapmakers in the 1700s, it was Jacques-Nicolas Bellin.

Bellin created remarkably accurate maps and nautical charts of locations all over the world, including locations in Canada, the United States, Central and South America, Asia, Africa and the Middle East.

Born in Paris in 1703, Bellin had a career that spanned 50 years. At just 18, he was appointed chief cartographer to the French navy. Twenty years later he became the official hydrographer to the French king, a position of considerable prestige that helped cement his reputation as one of the leading cartographers of his time.

Bellin worked hard to perfect his maps and nautical charts, continuously gathering information from navigational journals, itinerary reports and astronomical observations. His maps, which eschewed the more decorative look of earlier cartography in favour of functionality and accuracy, did more than simply differentiate east from west or north from south; they reflected discoveries and ongoing geopolitical events in places such as North and South America.

— Siobhan McClelland