Carte Contenant le Royaume du Mexique et la Floride…

This engaging 18th-century map depicts much of the North American territories of New Spain, stretching from Tierra Firme (Central America) to the deserts of the American Southwest. French and British claims are also shown near the Great Lakes and along the Atlantic seaboard, respectively, while numerous other European colonies are listed throughout the Caribbean. Text in the lower left discusses the region’s fertility, climate, and history. The geographic content relies heavily on an influential 1703 map issued by cartographer Guillaume De L’isle. He incorporated the latest available Jesuit, French, and Spanish sources, resulting in a relatively accurate depiction of the course of the Mississippi River and the Gulf Coast. Native American tribes and villages are labeled throughout, in addition to a fascinating variety of geographic features, European settlements, religious sites, mines, and forts. Of particular interest is Quivira in New Mexico. The mythical city was rumored to be rich in gold, but Spanish explorers found only the huts of the Wichita on the grassy Kansas plains. The copperplate-engraved sheet was originally published in Paris as part of Henri Abraham Chatelain’s important Atlas Historique. This monumental seven-volume set was first issued in Amsterdam between 1705 and 1720, but was reprinted until the late 1730s. The scholarly, but approachable, work was aimed at a broad audience, eager for new information during the Age of Enlightenment. The breadth of content offers a nuanced synthesis of geography, cosmography, history, religion, ethnology, and political science. The descriptive text (in French) and skillfully engraved maps, diagrams, and illustrations provide a fascinating window into the world of the early 18th century. Source: Wisconsin Historical Society