In 1763, Joseph Frederick Wallet Des Barres was engaged by the British Admiralty to undertake a detailed survey of the coast of Nova Scotia and the American Colonies. This project was to occupy Des Barres for the next twenty years at a cost of well over $100,000.
Many of the early surveys were done by Des Barres himself. Later, he was assisted by Major Samuel Holland who did much of the work after Des Barres returned to England in 1774. In England Des Barres began the detailed tasks of revising, editing and illustrating the charts for publication. They were published in 1777 under the title "The Atlantic Neptune".
Apart from the charts themselves, many of the volumes contain extremely fine views of ports and harbours of the Maritime Provinces of this period. This view shows the port, town and harbour of Annapolis Royal, Nova Scotia. The large ship in the centre is a British Admiralty vessel, probably the one carrying the survey crew. The harbour contains an assortment of small one and two-masted vessels. All are types of late 18th century vessels that would have been found around the Maritime coast.
Des Barres' extremely detailed charts gave official exposure for the first time to the excellent harbours which ring the Maritimes.
Courtesy: William Inglis Morse Collection, Dalhousie University Library
