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Description : |
This large
extraordinarily important landmark map the Northern
section of the 1794 map of North & Central America by
Governor Thomas Pownall (1722 – 1805) - as defined by
the Treaty of Paris, 1783 formally ending the
Revolutionary War between the United States & Great
Britain - was engraved by Thomas Kitchin and published
by Laurie & Whittle in the 1796 edition of Kitchin's
A New Universal Atlas.
Issued after the end of the American Revolutionary
War, this map details the newly formed United States,
the British dominions in Canada, the French territory of
Louisiana, and all territories to the west to part of
California. As one might expect from a map of this size
the detail throughout is extraordinary.
This is the map helped defined the end of the loose
confederation of colonial states and the beginning of
the United States as it stands today. All text is in
English.
Map Overview:
The United States at this time extended from the Pacific
to the Mississippi River and from Georgia to the Great
Lakes and Maine. The early state boundaries roughly
conform to their original colonial charters. Virginia,
North Carolina, and South Carolina are drawn with
indefinite western borders, suggesting claims to further
unexplored land beyond the Appellation Mountains. By
this time most of the boundary issues in the New England
states had been resolved, though there remained some
vagaries regarding the Massachusetts Connecticut border
and, though Vermont is noted, its boundaries are not
drawn in. At this time there were also some unresolved
issues regarding the national borders between Maine and
Nova Scotia. In Pennsylvania, the western border
displays some surveying confusions that would not be
resolved until the early 1800s and the creation of Ohio.
It is beyond the old colonial centers where this map
really gets interesting. Pownall offers copious
notations on the lands and territories between the
Appellation range and this Mississippi River. In some
cases he offers commentary on the various indigenous
tribes including the Creeks, Chickasaws, Chocktaws,
Senekas, Eriez, Delawares, Shawnee, Iroquois,
Algonquians, Ottawas and others. The cartographer was
clearly concerned with the development of these western
regions and offers copious commentary on fit sites for
factories, the alliances and temperaments of Indian
tribes, and the navigability of various river systems,
particularly the Mississippi and Ohio.
The Great Lakes are mapped with considerable accuracy
though several apocryphal islands do appear in Lake
Superior. The most notable of these are Phelipeaux and
Pontchartrain. Phelipeaux Island first appeared in
French maps of this region in the 1740s. Later it was
mentioned as a boundary marker in the 1783 Treaty of
Paris which ended the American Revolutionary War. The
non-existence of these islands was not conclusively
proven until about 1820.
To the west of the Mississippi we pass into the largely
unknown lands of the Great Plains. In what is roughly
modern day Missouri, between Memphis and St. Louis,
there is an interesting note suggesting that this region
is "Full of Mines", with a secondary note suggesting
that these mines gave rise to the "Mississippi Scheme"
of 1719. This refers to the Mississippi Company (Compagnie
du Mississippi) or, as it was more commonly known
the Indies Company (Compagnie d'Occident). This
organization was part of a French investment plan
comparable to the South Seas Company which was
developing contemporaneously in England. The Mississippi
Company's charter was to trade the riches of the
Louisiana Territory. The main proponent of the
Mississippi Company, John Law, greatly exaggerated the
wealth of Louisiana by describing a rich mining region
easily accessible along the Mississippi from New
Orleans. This resulted in a stock buying rush which
disproportionately overvalued Mississippi Company stock,
resulting in one of the world's first "Bubble
Economies".
Further North, along the northern border between the
United States and British America (Canada), Rain Lake,
the Lake of the Woods, and Lake Winnepeg are noted. This
region was a hotbed of exploration throughout the 18th
century. French and English concerns in the New World
were desperate for access to the Pacific and the rich
Asian markets. These markets had long been dominated by
the Spanish who had easy access to the Pacific via
Mexico and South America. The French and English set
their hopes on a Northwest Passage. By the late 18th
century the search for a route through the high Arctic
had long been abandoned. Instead, explorers and
theoretical cartographers believed that a water route
might be found among the elaborate network of lakes and
rivers that meandered through central Canada. Our map
shows evidence of some of this exploration, particularly
the travels of the Quebec born Pierre de La Verendrye
and his sons around Lake Alimipigon, the Lake of the
Woods (Lake Minitti) and Lake Winnipeg (Lake Ouinipigon).
As we progress even further west, passing out of
Louisiana into the Spanish holdings we begin to see
significant mapping - both conjectural and factual. The
Spanish had long been passively active in the
exploration of New Mexico. Though no concerted effort
had been put forth to map the region, various
missionaries and territorial governors had, over roughly
200 years of occupation added considerable data, both
fact and fiction to the cartographic picture. Numerous
American Indian groups are noted including the Pimas,
the Apaches ,the Navajo and others. Along the Rio del
Norte or upper Rio Grande there are a quantity mission
stations including the regional capital of Santa Fe.
Just to the west of these missions we begin to enter
more mythical territory and both Cibola and Teguayo are
noted. Cibola and Teguayo are both associated with the
legendary Seven Cities of Gold. It was believed that in
1150 when Merida, Spain, was conquered by Moors ,the
city's seven bishops fled to unknown lands taking with
them much of the city's riches. Each Bishop supposedly
founded a great city in a far away place. With the
discovery of the New World and the fabulous riches
plundered by Cortez and Pizarro, the Seven Cities became
associated with New World legends. Coronado, hearing
tales of the paradise-like mythical Aztec homeland of
Azatlan somewhere to the north of Mexico , determined to
hunt for these cities in what is today the American
southwest. In time indigenous legends of rich and
prosperous lands became attached to the seven cities.
Two of these appear on our map - Cibola and Teguayo.
A magnificent title cartouche appears in the upper right
quadrant. The cartouche, which angles around Bermuda,
depicts two stylized American Indians surrounded by the
presumed flora and fauna of the new world. These include
a small monkey, a parrot, and a jaguar. Above the
cartouche is a textual quotation from Article III of the
Treaty of Paris, affirming the rights of the United
States to access the rich cod fields of Newfoundland's
Grand Banks.
This map is heavily based on a map originally drawn c.
1755 by Bowen and Gibson. It went through numerous
revisions and reissues over the subsequent 50 years
reflecting new discoveries and the changing political
climate.
Thomas Pownall
(1722 - February 5, 1805) was a British scholar,
statesman and soldier active in the colonial
administration of North America just prior to the
American Revolutionary War. Pownell was born in England
and educated at Trinity College, Cambridge. After
graduation he was employed by his brother, John Pownall,
at the office of the Lord's Commissioners of Trade and
Plantations, which oversaw British economic interests in
its North American colonies. In 1753, Pownall was
appointed secretary to the governor of New York, Sir
Danvers Osborne. Osborne, himself having be only
recently appointed to the position, committed suicide
shortly after taking office. Despite this setback,
Pownall remained in America and devoted himself to
studying and researching the colonies. In the process
Pownall became close lifelong friends with Benjamin and
other New World luminaries. He also published several
notable works on the colonial administration of North
America. In 1757 Pownall was appointed Governor of the
Massachusetts Bay colony. In this position he frequently
found himself at odds with the restrictive policies of
the Board of Trade. It was not long before he was pushed
out of office and, declining the governorship of
Jamaica, reassigned to South Carolina. Despite nominally
holding the governorship of South Carolina, Pownall
never visited the colony. Instead he returned to England
where he eventually became a member of Parliament. In
Parliament, he advocated for reduced taxes towards the
colonies - had he been heeded, the American Revolution
may have never happened. Pownall retired from public
life around 1780, but continued to pursue his scholarly
interests. Pownall's research contributed significantly
to several important maps and scholarly work on North
America(Ref: Tooley; M&B)
General Description:
Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stable
Paper color: - off white
Age of map color: - Original & later
Colors used: - Yellow, green, red, brown.
General color appearance: - Authentic and fresh
Paper size: - 47in x 21in (1.2m x 530mm)
Plate size: - 47in x 21in (1.2m x 530mm)
Margins: - Min ½in (12mm)
Imperfections:
Margins: - Light age toning
Plate area: - Folds as issued, vertical creasing to
right side of image
Verso: - None
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