Large folio engraving of the capital of the sultanate of Aceh, at the northen tip of Sumatra. Atsjien was the name used by the Dutch. The city was originally established as Bandar Aceh Darussalam Kandang and served as a capital and hub for the Sultanate of Aceh upon its foundation in the late 15th century. Later its name was changed to Bandar Aceh Darussalam, and then it became popularly known as Banda Aceh. The first part of the name comes from the Persian bandar (بندر) meaning "port" or "haven". The city is also dubbed the "port to Mecca," or the "porch of Mecca" (Indonesian: Serambi Mekkah) in reference to the days when hajj pilgrims travelled by sea from Indonesia and would make a stopover in the city before continuing their journey to Mecca.
From Francois Valentijn's Oud en Nieuw Oost-Indien published in the Netherlands in 1726.
Valentijn was a long-time employee of the Vereenigde Oost-Indische Compagnie, (VOC, Dutch East-India Company), beginning his career in Holland at nineteen. He obviously had access to secret information not available to company outsiders as his book disclosed previously unknown details on the workings of the VOC. He moved back and forwards between his base in Amboina and the Netherlands, working at times as a missionary.
Copperplate engraving.
280 x 365 mm. (Plateline).
1726
Good condition.