Historic Map : Bonne Map of The Mediterranean and The Maghreb or Barbary Coast, 1771, Vintage Wall Art

A beautiful example of Rigobert Bonne's decorative map of the Maghreb or Barbary Coast. Covers northwestern Africa and the western Mediterranean. This region, known since the days of Columbus as Tierra Firma, consists of the modern day nations of Tunisia, Libya, Algeria and Morocco. Offers excellent detail throughout showing mountains, rivers, national boundaries, cities, regions, and tribes. As Bonne was preparing this map, the Barbary Coast was a hotbed of piracy - much like the Somali coast today. The Barbary Pirates would attack trading ships passing through the narrow Gibraltar straits and western Mediterranean. Ships would be destroyed or appropriated, cargo sized, and the crews and passengers enslaved. By the early 19th century, piracy in this region had become so intense that the United States launched its first major naval offensive against Tripoli. The resultant 1805 Battle of Derne later inspired a portion of the lyrics of the Marines' Hymn , the shores of Tripoli. A large decorative title cartouche appears in the lower left quadrant. Drawn by R. Bonne in 1771 for issue as plate no. 30 in Jean Lattre's 1776 issue of the Atlas Moderne .