These charts represent France's burgeoning prominence in sea chart production at the beginning of the eighteenth century. The charts were produced by Bermond and Michelot under the direction of the 'Dépôt Général des Cartes et Plans, Journaux et Mémoires concernant la Navigation'. The 'Dépôt', set-up in 1720 and directed by Jacques Nicolas Bellin, sponsored numerous hydrographic campaigns, including those of Pène, Ayrouard, Bougard, and Freycinet.