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| Keywords: 1708 De L'Isle Map of North America (Covens and Mortier ed.) - Geographicus - AmeriqueSeptentrionale-covensmortier-1708.jpg An extraordinary map this is Covens and Mortier ™s 1708 reissue of De L ™Isle ™s landmark 1700 mapping of North America Covers the continent of North America from the Baffin Bay southwards as far as the Spanish Main westwards to Cape Mendocino and eastwards to include the Azores and the Sargasso Sea Cartographically this map is practically identical to De L ™Isle ™s map though the title cartouche has been moved to the upper left quadrant and the mile scales to the upper right with a new curtain motif frame Tooley in his Mapping of America considers this to be a foundational map and indeed it is one of the most influential maps to emerge from the De L ™Isle workshop Some consider this map to be one of the first to revert California to a peninsular state following the insular suppositions of the late 17th and early 18th centuries However this may be a misreading of the map De L ™Isle leaves the northern terminus of the Gulf of California open such that though the form of California is suggestive of a peninsular state should exploration prove the opposite the cartographer was covered On the west coast of California a false bay is notated though this may simply be a double mapping of the entrance to the Gulf of California Further north along the coast San Diego Seyo Cape Mendocin and Francis Drakes Port and the English claim of New Albion are noted Both Mexico and New Mexico are mapped with considerable sophistication with mines indigenous peoples mountains and river ways and the missions of Santa Fe Taos and San Antonio de Senecu El Paso noted The Mississippi valley is well developed and based upon the most advanced French information available at the time The forts of St Louis Bon Secours are noted as is the settlement of d ™Iberville at Bilochy Following the Mississippi north we find the Great Lakes beautifully drawn on the Coronelli model The French stronghold on the region is evident with forts at Tadousac Quebec Sorel Montreal and Frontenac identified In an act of clear carto-advocacy De L ™Isle confines the English colonies to the narrow strip of coastal lands east of the Alleghenies The River and Fort of Kinibeki Kennebec is set as the northern border of English holdings in the region Boston Nantucket Long Island Manhattan New Jersey Pennsylvania Jamestown Roanoke Charlestown and St Augustine among others are identified along the eastern seaboard At sea there are a couple of elements of note This is the first printed mapping of the Sargasso Sea here identified as the Mer de Sargasse where Icy flottent des herbes mais en montre quantite Along the Mexican and California coastline the routes of various navigators including Olivier Cortez Gaetan Mendonza and Francis Drake are delineated Just to the east of Barbados in the Antilles a curious apocryphal island appears with the label I de Fonseca selon Quelquefuns This island which is here surrounded by dangerous rocks and reefs appears in several maps of the region as early as Hondius ™ Americae Novissima Descriptio where it is identified as Y de S B This island was also identified by M Rochette with the label Galissioniere ™s Rock Other ships including the Rainbow claim to have seen the island as late as 1822 De L ™Isle was the first to give the map a definite name Fonseca Even so with so few sightings of the island it disappeared from most maps issued in the 18th century There is some speculation that discolored water occasionally discharged by the nearby Orinoco River led to various false sightings of land The condition of this map is of special note as it is nothing short of spectacular The impression is so intense it is reminiscent of Coronelli ™s work and the overall state of preservation is remarkable 1708 undated Size in 23 5 19 object history credit line accession number AmeriqueSeptentrionale-covensmortier-1708 Mortier P <i>Atlas Nouveau de diverse cartes choisies des Meilleurs Geographes comme Sanson G De L'Isle c </i> Amsterdam Chez Pierre P Mortier 1708 Geographicus-source PD-Art-100 1708 maps America Old maps of North America 1708 Old maps of the Caribbean 1708 Old maps of New France 1708 Sargasso Sea 1708 Guillaume Delisle America Pierre Mortier America Maps in French America Covens en Mortier | ||||
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