Pierre Du Val's map of southeast Asia, was first published in 1665, and reissued in 1677 for the 'Cartes de geographie les plus nouvelles', as here. It shows the area at the very onset of French interest. The "Compagnie des Indes", founded, firstly in 1664, with large contributions from the Royal Court at Versailles, was modelled after its Dutch counterpart, the VOC, at the very beginning of Louis XIV's reign, and intended to compete head on with them and their English counterpart, the EIC.

Largely funded by the crown, the Compagnie went into its first decline after Louis XIV's death in 1683. Its woes were compounded by the losses of the Franco-Dutch War (1672-8), and the rise in competitive French private ventures. Indeed, the first successful French embassy to China, de la Roque's voyage in the Amphitrite, in 1698, was privately funded.

Soon, "Chinoiserie", the imitation and/or evocation of Chinese, and other Asian inspired, motifs in Western art, was all the rage; nowhere more so than in the Rococo salons of eighteenth century France. Luxurious porcelain, silk and lacquerware, flowed into Europe from East Asia, from expeditions funded by both the "Compagnie" and increasingly profitable private enterprise.

This fierce competition, between "state" voyages and those of private entrepreneurs, is one reason why the second company, "La Compagnie perpétuelle des Indes", diversified. A composition of both East and West Indies companies, it was soon distracted from trade with the east by the temptations of greater glory in the west,... ultimately falling victim to the ambitions of the infamous financier John Law. In spite of its inevitable bankruptcy, and fewer voyages to China, at its demise the Compagnie possessed territories in North America, Africa, and the Indian Ocean.

With an early outline of Australia, including the south coast of Tasmania, the west coast of Cape York and the coast of Arnhem Land, documenting the dates of discovery: is "one of the earliest French maps to depict Australia as defined by Tasman's two voyages" (Perry). Du Val "follows van Alphen and Thevenot but translates "Vuyle hoeck" into "C.Wyle". He adds "I Seuers" to Tasmania but omits "Marias", "Tasmans", and "Borcels" islands from Tasmania, and following van Alphen rather than Thevenot does not extend his map to include New Zealand" (Tooley).

Du Val relied on VOC charts for his portrayal of the East Indies. Korea (shown as a peninsula) and Japan are drawn after Melchisédech Thévenot, but the island to the north of Japan is here named "Matsumay".

The mapmaker
Pierre du Val (1619-1683) was the nephew of the celebrated French cartographer Nicolas Sanson d'Abbeville (1600-1667), mapmaker to Louis XIV, King of France. Sanson was responsible for a renaissance in geographical endeavor in France, which paved the way for French domination in map production. The "French school of cartography", unprecedented in its attention to precision and scientific detail, discarded much of the decorative embellishments of previous maps. When Du Val adopted his uncle's geographical conceptions for his very rare folio atlas, 'Cartes Geographiques' in 1654, it was affirmation that the center of cartographic innovation had shifted from Holland to France. Du Val was also appointed 'Geographe ordinaire' to Louis XIV. When he died in 1683, the business passed to his widow and their two daughters, Marie-Angélique and Michelle. One or both of the daughters continued to publish maps until at least 1707 from "Chez Mlle. Duval" at their father's former address. Marie-Angélique Du Val then married Guillaume Delisle, often considered the first scientific geographer, and one of France's great cartographers. After Delisle's death in 1726, Marie-Angélique again took over the business, publishing her late-husband's atlas until the firm could be passed to Delisle's nephew, Philippe Buache.