Claude Buffier (1661 - 1731) was a French Philosopher,
Historian and teacher. He was born in
Poland to French parents who resettled in Rouen soon after he was born. He was educated at the Jesuit school in Rouen
and was ordained as a Jesuit Priest at the age of nineteen. After living for
some years in Rome, he settles back in Rouen, teaching in the Jesuit school. In 1724 he published his major work of
philosophy, ‘Traité des
premières vérités ‘. This work built largely on
the ideas of Descartes, but remained influential in French philosophy
throughout the 18th and 19th centuries.
Buffier also wrote educational works in
History and Geography. His 'Geografia Universale'
was first published 1720 and was reprinted and many times during the 18th
and early 19th Century. This map is from the 1746 edition published in Paris. The
engraver was F. Desbrulins (active 1719-57).