French cartography

The history of French cartography can be traced to developments in the Middle Ages. This period was marked by improvements in measuring instruments and also by an upgrade of work in registers of all types.

The first map of France was drawn by Oronce Finé and printed in woodcuts in 1525. It testifies to the will of the political power to mark its presence on the territory; to affirm, to build limits, borders, to arrange its territory, and to consolidate the internal economic markets.

In the sixteenth century, Dieppe appeared as an important school of cartography. Pierre Desceliers allowed the realization of many maps. At the same time, the Portolan maps of the Portuguese sailors had the most recent knowledge obtained by the Dieppois sailors in their exploration of Canada.

Then, cartography progressed more and more, through the development of new techniques and by the will of the political powers to control their territories. Very powerful companies testify support to some of the cartographic missions at the end of the nineteenth century.

There were two decisive stages in cartography. One was determining longitude and latitude. Florence Trystram, 2001, the lawsuit of the stars is an account of the research of three French scientists that was done in South America, 1735-1771.

In France, the first general maps of the territory using a measuring apparatus were made by the Cassini family during the 18th century on a scale of 1:86,400 (one centimeter on the chart corresponds to approximately 864 meters on the ground). These maps were, for their time, a technical innovation. They were the first maps based on geodetic triangulation, and took more than fifty years to complete; four generations of the Cassini family were involved in their production. These maps, known as "Cassini Maps" or "maps of the Academy," are still referenced by geographers, historians and genealogists.

The work of the Cassinis left its mark on the world; toponyms known as "Cassini signs" still exist, revealing where triangulated measurements at that time were made.

The "map of Cassini" or "map of the Academy" is the first general map of the kingdom of France. It was drawn up by the Cassini family—primarily César-François Cassini de Thury (Cassini III) and his son Jean-Dominique Cassini (Cassini IV)—during the 18th century. The adopted scale is one line to 100 toises, or 1:86,400 (the measuring apparatus contained 864 lines).

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