Artist: Johannes Van Keulen The Younger
Size: 59 x 53 cm
Museum: Kalakriti Archives (Hyderabad, India)
Technique: Engraving
The VOC’s “Secret Atlas” sea chart depicting the Southern Tip of India, Western Sri Lanka and the Maldives. This chart embraces the coasts along the southern tip of India, Western Sri Lanka and the Maldives, waters that were then almost completely dominated by the VOC (Dutch East India Company). All major ports are labeled, starting along the Malabar Coast, working southwards, they include ‘Coetchin’ (Kochi, VOC flag); ‘Porcat’ (Purakkad, VOC flag); ‘Colcoilang of Carnapore’ (Kayamkulam, VOC flag); ‘Coilang’ (Kollam, VOC flag); ‘Ansjengen of Anzyn’ (Anchuthengu / Anjengo, EIC flag, then the lone British base in the area); and ‘Tengapatnam’ (Thengapattanam, VOC flag).At the southern tip of India appears ‘West Caap Comoryn’ (Kanyakumari / Cape Comorin), and then rounding up the east coast the major ports include ‘Punto Kayl’ (Punnaikayal, VOC flag); ‘Toutocoryn’ (Tuticorin / Thoothukudi, shown only as a fort, although a VOC base since 1658); ‘Baaypaar’ (Vaippar, VOC flag); ‘Banpaar’ (Vembar, VOC flag); ‘Kitikare’ (Keelakarai, VOC flag).The ‘Bogt van Tondy’ (Gulf of Mannar), which separates India from Sri Lanka (Ceylon) carefully identifies the numerous hazards to navigation, while the island chain of ‘Adams brug’ (Adam’s Bridge) is shown to nearly link Sri Lanka to the mainland of the subcontinent. Sri Lanka, then controlled by the VOC, features the major ports of ‘Jafnapatnam’ (Jaffna, VOC flag); ‘Colombo’ (VOC flag); and ‘Pta Galle’ (Galle, VOC flag). The great coral archipelago of ‘De Maldivische Eylanden’ (Maldives) appears prominently in the left-hand side of the chart.
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