Map of British and French Settlements in North America, 1755

Details:
black and white engraving
Thomas Phin, engraver
dimensions: 15" x 10 7/8"
condition: professionally conserved, paper toned, some mended tears, a good, legible impression
Description:
This 18th century map was published in Scots Magazine, a Scottish gentleman's literary and politics magazine founded in Edinborough in 1739 when European interest in the North American colonies was growing. This detailed map is early enough that the territory and primary features shown are Native American tribal names and their respective territorial lands. Certain natural features are labeled such as "Iroquois or Champlain L", "Lake Errie" and fishing grounds are denoted off the coast in Nova Scotia with an engraver's dotted line. Competing claims by the colonizing British and French are expressed graphically and with labeling on the map. The north border of the area labeled "Florida" on the map carries the legend "Limits stipulated 1738". A place called "Granville's Pryory" is shown on the map. Otherwise, the land is a gazzetteer of Native American tribes and territorial lands. By contrast, North American cartography to follow in the later 18th c. decade to mid-19th American shows the complete reversal of this world order, with Native American names quickly receding for place names or trails, and their respective territories obliterated.