First Documented Crossing of the North American Continent
An excellent copy of the first edition of Sir Alexander MacKenzie's account regarding his expeditions through North America in 1789 and 1793. Published in 1801, this book contains a vivid description of MacKenzie's explorations through Canada, the Upper United States, and the Pacific Northwest.
These expeditions are notable as they are the first documented overland crossing of North America. For the publication of this book, three maps were created. The first map, titled A Map of America... Exhibiting MacKenzie's Track From Montreal to Fort Chipewyan & from thence to the North Sea In 1789 & to the West Pacific Ocean in 1793, highlights the routes and distances the expeditions took to cross the continent. The second map, MacKenzie's Track From Fort Chipewyan to the North Sea is a more detailed look at the 1789 expedition through Northern Canada along the MacKenzie River. Similarly, the third map, MacKenzie's Track From Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean showcases the route taken to the Pacific Ocean during the 1793 expedition. All three maps precede the respective chapter describing the journey of MacKenzie to give the reader a visualization of the terrain traversed.
These maps contain useful information, such as warnings of strong currents, various rivers, and some indigenous groups the expedition met. MacKenzie and his team desired to expand their knowledge of the continent in order to develop additional fur trading posts to expand British control over Canada. The notes and maps made by the two expeditions served to aid colonization efforts in North America. Overall, this book is an excellent account of early European exploration of North America, especially considering the caliber of discovery within.
Sir Alexander MacKenzie
Born in 1764 on an island off of Scotland, MacKenzie came to New York as a child. Upon the outbreak of the American Revolution, MacKenzie's father relocated the family to Canada around 1775. MacKenzie fell in love with Canada and its wilderness, working at the North West Fur Company as a teenager. His aptitude for the wilderness and exploration made MacKenzie an ideal candidate to lead an expedition West to find the Pacific Ocean.
MacKenzie would lead his first expedition in 1789 which failed to find the route to the Pacific (see map MacKenzie's Track From Fort Chipewyan to the North Sea). Undeterred, MacKenzie would set out again in 1792 on an expedition across the continent. He was successful and found a route to the Pacific while also becoming the first documented person to cross North America (see map MacKenzie's Track From Fort Chipewyan to the Pacific Ocean). MacKenzie and his expeditions enabled British expansion into western Canada as the demand for fur, land, and riches increased.