LABAT (Jean-Baptiste).Nouveau voyage aux isles de l'Amérique.Paris: Guillaume Cavelier, 1722. - 6 volumes in-12, 164 x 93: xxxvj pp, (5 ff.), 525 pp, 2 maps, 19 plates; (3 ff.), 598 pp, 1 map, 22 plates; iv, 547 pp. wrongly numbered 549, 31 plates; vj, 558 pp, 13 plates; vj, 524 pp, 2 maps, 3 plates; vj, 514 pp, (7 ff.), 8 plates. First edition of the travel account of the Dominican monk and missionary Jean-Baptiste Labat (1663-1738), in the French West Indies (Martinique, Guadeloupe and other Caribbean islands) from 1694 to 1705. The work is presented as an ethnographic, historical and scientific work on the West Indies and the French colonies in America. It offers a complete picture of the societies, resources and dynamics of these regions, making it one of the most comprehensive and detailed accounts of the French colonies in America at the turn of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Labat deals with the natural history of the islands, describing in detail the flora, fauna and landscapes, while also tracing the origins, customs, religion and government of the inhabitants, whether natives or colonists. He devotes considerable space to the social and political transformations brought about by colonisation, as well as to the conflicts and significant events he witnessed. The book also looks at the colonial economy: Labat analyses trade and local manufacturing and suggests ways of developing them, reflecting the economic issues of the time. Finally, he offers an accurate and curious description of each island, combining geographical, cultural and practical observations. The edition is illustrated with 101 plates, including 5 maps (Gulf of Mexico and the West Indies. - Martinique. - Guadeloupe. - Island of Saint Christopher. - Santo Domingo Island). A good copy in contemporary binding. Some wear and dull corners. Old label of a private library glued at the top of the spines. A few scattered wet spots. Tears without missing some plates.