French map of Ceram Island, Ambon and the Banda Neira Islands in the Moluccas compiled by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703-1772), who spent more than 50 years at the French Hydrographic Service where he was appointed the first Ingénieur hydrographe de la Marine and was commissioned to carry out new surveys, first of the coasts of France and then of all the known coasts of the world. The map was engraved by Jacob van der Schley (1715-1779) and published in Paris in Antoine F. Prevost’s l’Histoire Générale des Voyages.between 1747 and 1775. 

The Maluku Islands were the only source of nutmeg and cloves in the world for many centuries and its true location was a closely kept secret by traders who knew of them. European exploration of Southeast Asia was motivated by the desire to find these islands and have monopolies of their own.