This book, one of the most beautiful seventeenth nautical atlases was commissioned by Louis XIV's chief minister Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619-1683) following the Franco-Dutch War. The war had proved that France needed to gain a naval advantage over the Dutch and the best way for this to be achieved would be to have the best naval charts. Colbert commissioned leading mathematicians and astronomers to chart the waters of Europe which culminated, in 1693, in the publication of this incredibly detailed volume. It covers the European coast from Denmark to Gibraltar, including depth measurements, forts and compass points in order to provide the large amounts of information for the French Navy.