Laurie and Whittle. A New Chart of the North Coast of Java. 1794. [Java, Indonesia]

Laurie and Whittle A New Chart of the North Coast of Java (Jakarta, Indonesia) London, 1794 24 ¾ 36 ½ inches This is a fine example of Laurie and Whittle's 1794 nautical chart or maritime map of northwestern Java. The map covers from Bantam Bay (SelatSunda) and Hill (Serang, Indonesia) eastwards as far as Batavia (Jakarta, Indonesia). This region was a major battleground between rival Dutch, British, and Portugese trading monopolies. The Dutch and British in particular contested over northwestern Java, with its easy access to regional spice, in particular pepper, ports. In 1602 the British East India Company established a trade entrepot at Bantam to contest Dutch East IndiaCompany (VOC) control based in nearby Batavia. The Dutch, allied with a local Sultan, eventually drove the English out Bantam and Java itself.By the end of the 18th century, when this map was made, the Bantam entrepot was little more than a name on a map - as seen here - whileBatavia further east had risen, with a po