When the map’s maker, Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, was appointed French Royal Hydrographer, he updated a series of maps for several key publications in the 18th century. The map shows the southern part of the Malay peninsula, the island of Singapore and the eastern part of Sumatra. It refers to Singapore as “Pulo ou Isle Panjang”, which means Long Island in Malay, and was often used by navigators in the Straits of Malacca. This naming also influences subsequent Dutch and English maps. The map also contains an error, where the Johor Strait was mistakenly labelled as the Old Strait of Singapore.