A Rare 18th Century British Chart of the East Coast of North America
This two-sheet sea chart, published by the London engraver William Heather in 1799, meticulously maps the coastline of the northeastern United States from Virginia to Maine. Heather, a prominent chart maker and publisher, was known for producing navigational aids at the height of European sea power, reflecting the importance of accurate maritime charts for commerce, exploration, and naval conflict. The chart includes a wealth of navigational details, including depth soundings, tidal patterns, and coastal topography, making it invaluable to ships engaged in transatlantic trade and local coastal navigation.
The chart shows the coastline along the Atlantic Ocean, featuring major harbors such as New York, Boston, Philadelphia, and the Chesapeake Bay area in Virginia. Insets provide more detailed views of New York Harbor and Boston Harbor, which were key hubs of maritime activity. The intricate network of depth soundings and the depiction of shoals and other hazards are particularly significant, as they would have guided merchants, military fleets, and fishermen during an era of intensive sea-based commerce.
At the time of its publication, sea trade along the American coast was booming, fueled by growing commerce between the United States, Europe, and the Caribbean. However, the geopolitical climate was highly volatile. The United States found itself caught in the middle of European conflicts, particularly between Britain and France, following the French Revolution and the rise of Napoleon. Tensions with France had escalated into an undeclared naval conflict known as the Quasi-War (1798-1800), primarily fought in the Caribbean but also impacting American shipping along the eastern seaboard.
During this period, American ships were vulnerable to attacks by French privateers, as France sought to disrupt British trade, and by extension, any trade with nations allied with Britain, including the neutral United States. Meanwhile, Britain, with which the United States had signed the Jay Treaty in 1795, continued to assert its dominance over the seas, enforcing maritime blockades and impressing American sailors into British naval service, contributing to rising tensions between the two nations.
The publication of this chart by Heather, a London-based cartographer, during the Quasi-War is particularly noteworthy, as it reflects the continuing commercial and navigational interest in American coastal waters, despite the ongoing conflict between the United States and France. The chart, accompanied by Heather’s Pilot for the Atlantic Ocean, would have served British and American navigators seeking to avoid hazards and successfully navigate these politically charged waters.
Moreover, the chart underscores the strategic importance of American harbors and their role in global trade during a period when the young United States was asserting its maritime independence and building up its commercial fleet. The detailed depiction of ports like New York and Boston highlights their significance in transatlantic trade routes and their function as vital links in the global economy, connecting the Americas, Europe, and the West Indies.
Overall, Heather's chart serves as both a practical navigational tool and a reflection of the complex geopolitical landscape at the turn of the 19th century, when the interplay of commerce, naval warfare, and international relations made control of the seas critical to national power and economic survival.
Rarity
The map is extremely rare on the market.
RBH lists 2 examples (Sothebys (1999) and Francis Edwards (1923)). Oldmaps.com lists 3 examples, none in the past 20 years.