Antique Map of the Friendly Islands by Bénard (c.1785)

Description: Antique map titled 'Carte des Isles des Amis'. Map of the Friendly Islands / Tonga. The Tongan people first encountered Europeans in 1616 when the Dutch vessel Eendracht, captained by Willem Schouten, made a short visit to trade. Later came other Dutch explorers, including Jacob Le Maire.Tonga became known in the West as the Friendly Islands because of the congenial reception accorded to Captain James Cook on his first visit in 1773.

Artists and Engravers: Robert Bénard (1734 in Paris – 1777) was an 18th-century French engraver. Specialized in the technique of engraving, Robert Bénard is mainly famous for having supplied a significant amount of plates (at least 1,800) to the Encyclopédie by Diderot & d'Alembert from 1751. Later, publisher Charles-Joseph Panckoucke reused many of his productions to illustrate the works of his catalog.