1755 A General Map of the Middle British Colonies, in America...
DESCRIPTION
A general Map of the Middle British Colonies, in America; Viz Virginia, Màriland, Dèlaware, Pensilvania, New-Jersey, New-York, Connecticut, and Rhode Island...
By: Lewis Evans
Date: 1755 (dated) Philadelphia
Dimensions: 19 x 25.5 inches (48.25 x 64.75 cm)
This map of pre-Revolutionary War America is one of the most important and influential maps of the region dating to the 18th century. Two other maps were also of import at the time, one by Henry Popple (1733) and the other by John Mitchell (1755). However, it was this map by Evans, published by Benjamin Franklin in Philadelphia, whose impact on the development of the colonies as the political climate changed cannot be overstated. The information provided by it was up-to-date and compellingly accurate.
Evans’ map is the first known regional map of the Colonies to be used for land speculation. As the boundaries of the frontier changed, French territorial claims were still constraining British expansion and this map provided scientifically researched, reliable information regarding western limits and boundaries of the British Colonies.
Another important contribution is the map’s depiction of natural resources, including petroleum and coal deposits. It is the first known map to document the existence of petroleum at this country’s birthplace of the oil industry – western Pennsylvania.
The map is also noteworthy for its inclusion and description of Aquanishuonîgy, the country of the Confederate Indians (the Iroquois nation). Their hunting grounds are designated and their territorial reach well delineated. In it, indigenous peoples are depicted as a strong and even sovereign, unified populace.
America’s founding fathers used the map for decades, for political, economic and expansionist purposes. Its visualization of the area served as a guide for creating a recognizable community of the colonies which would eventually become the United States of America. Along with the map Evans published a pamphlet entitled Analysis of a General Map of the Middle British Colonies, an essay which describes his various sources of information for the map and explains its geopolitical significance. The work was an encyclopedic wellspring of information which was still being utilized by politicians, merchants and businessmen and sundry others for generations to come. Evans and his work are credited with having contributed significantly to the success of the revolution to which he alluded as a possibility in 1755.
CONDITION
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