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Description

A French & Indian War Rarity -- Combining Two Important Separately Published Maps

This truly fascinating and historically important map illustrates the region in conflict at the start of the French & Indian War, with emphasis on the region affected by the Acadia Boundary Dispute between France and Britain, a major the Seven Years' War.  

While several other maps focused on this same dispute, the present map is noteworthy for its recognition of the broader region in dispute between the two powers, specifically extending its reach to the lands drained by the Ohio River, the second major conflict region which would lead to war.  The present map covers the entire Great Lakes, a significant portion of the Ohio River (nearly to its confluence with the Wabash River) and south to the western part of North Carolina, comprising modern day Tennessee, the regions which would be the theater of active conflict between 1756 and 1762, during the French & Indian War.

As described below, the map is a marriage of two very rare broadside maps, Henry Overton's 1754 broadside map with text panels entitled An accurate Map of the English Colonies in North America bordering on the River Ohio (https://www.loc.gov/item/74692232/) and a French map entitled Carte D'Une Partie De L'Amerique Septentrionale Pour servir a L'Intelligence Du Memoire Sure Les Pretentions Des Anglois Au Suiet Des Limites A Regler Aec La France Dans Cette Partie Du Monde . . . (Paris, 1755), believed to be the work of Bellin https://www.raremaps.com/gallery/detail/0036dg

The first state of this map, known in a single copy at the Bibliotheque National de France, is a faithful copy of Overton's very rare 1754 broadside map (with out text panels), which puts forth a bizarre configuration for the British Colonial Claims.  The second state adds approximately 6 inches to the east side of the map, thereby adding the details of the Acadian Boundary Dispute which was the subject matter of the Bellin map, which had been submitted by the French to the Joint Commission formed to resolved the dispute.

In combining the two maps, Poilly presents for French Audiences a concise depiction of the complete theater of conflict, along with a Franco-centric history of the Acadian dispute and an overview of the French and English positions thereon.

The Acadia Boundary Dispute

The Explication on the Poilly map is directed toward the Acadia Boundary Dispute.  A brief overview of the British and French current and historical claims to parts of the Canadian Maritimes (Acadia), Quebec and Maine, are shown, in order to divide up the territory in various ways, employing lines and shading, as explained by the text.

In 1749, the Britain and France formed a Joint Commission to resolve their boundary dispute in Acadia. Tensions between the two powers remained high following the signing of the Treaty of Aix-la-Chapelle (1748), which ended the War of Austrian Succession (1740-48) on the terms of the status quo ante bellum. However, France and Britain disagreed about what the "status quo ante bellum" meant, as the boundaries of the French and British claims in the region from before this last war were prescribed by the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The problem was that the relevant wording of that treaty was extremely vague. While both sides agreed that France had ceded at least a part of Acadia to Britain in 1713, they could not agree on the size and extent of the ceded territory. The original wording the Treaty of Utrecht read:

The most Christian king [Louis XIV of France] will entrust to [Anne] the Queen of Great Britain… Nova Scotia also, otherwise Acadia, in its entirety, conformable to its ancient limits; as also the town of Port Royal, now called Annapolis Royal, and generally all the dependencies of the said lands…

The British interpreted this to mean that France had ceded to them all of the Canadian Maritimes, Quebec's Gaspé Peninsula and a piece of the south shore of the St. Lawrence River. The French interpreted the same agreement to mean that they had only ceded the south coast of the Peninsula of Nova Scotia and the vicinity of the town of Port Royal (renamed Annapolis Royal by the British in 1713). Objective legal analysts have since interpreted the cession to actually consist of the entirely of Peninsular Nova Scotia but nothing else. As shown on the present map, both sides were very far apart.

As discussed by Mary Pedley in her fine article 'Map War', both sides on the Joint Commission employed a great assortment of historical maps and written records to prove the primacy of their respective claims. Both sides had strong historical precedents on their side. The British claimed that the region was discovered by John Cabot, an explorer sailing under the English flag in 1497 and that King James had formally chartered the territory to British subjects in 1621. The French countered that they had built the first permanent settlement in the region in 1603 (Port Royal), which was followed up by numerous French royal charters, settlements and fortifications, most notably the great bastion of Louisbourg on Cape Breton Island (built in 1720). The English then counterclaimed that this was all trumped by the Utrecht cessions and that British claims were now anchored by the large Royal Navy base at Halifax (founded in 1749).

The British produced a map by Thomas Jefferys, A New Map of Nova Scotia, and Cape Breton Island… (London, 1755), which showed the extent of their claims, while the French provided their Carte D'Une Partie De L'Amerique Septentrionale Pour servir a L'Intelligence Du Memoire Sure Les Pretentions Des Anglois Au Suiet Des Limites A Regler Avec La France Dans Cette Partie Du Monde . . . (Paris, 1755), likely devised by Jacques-Nicolas Bellin, which sought to favorably compare the French claims to the British contentions.

As noted above, Poilly succinctly draws upon the Bellin map and fuses it with the Overton.   The  'Explication" translates loosely as follows:

The Limits proposed in the Memoirs of British Commissioners on September 21  and January 11, 1751. are surrounded by large points (....) [and yellow lines]:  

But according to them, the Isle of Cape Breton is excepted.

The Limits of Acadia and its Benches following the Treaty of Utrecht are thus marked xxxxxx [and in green]

The Suburbs of Port Royal ceded by the same Treaty of Untrect surrounded by a thick line  _____

The Boundaries of Nova Scotia following the concession made by James I to William Alexander on August 9, 1621 are surrounded by smaller points. ....... [also in yellow]

The lands conceded by [Oliver] Cromwell to Messrs. La Tour, Crown and Temple on August 9, 1656 are shown with a two solid lines [and red]  [The region in question is an ovoid area embracing the shores of the Bay of Fundy and a part of eastern Maine.  This land claim relates to an extremely bizarre sequence of events. Charles de Saint-Étienne de la Tour (1593-1666), who served as the Governor of French Acadia (1631-42 and 1653-57), was deposed by the rival colonial leader, the Sieur de Charnizay, in 1645. He then switched sides to the English, whereupon he received, in conjunction with two English subjects, this grant from Oliver Cromwell, the Lord Protector of England. He subsequently returned to French allegiance, supposedly invalidating Cromwell's award.]

The country restored by the Treaty of Breda is even that which had been conceded by Cromwell, and in addition the country from Mirligueche to Canseau.   [By the Treaty of Breda in 1667 Acadia was returned to France, without specifying what territories were actually involved. Thomas Temple, an English proprietor residing in Boston, had been given a charter by Cromwell, which was ignored in the Treaty, and the actual handing off was delayed at the site until 1670. In addition, the conquest of New Netherland by the English was confirmed on July 21, 1667, producing the Colonies of New York, New Jersey, Pennsylvania, and Delaware]

The Government of Sieur Denis in 1654 is illustrated by shaded horizontal lines.  [This area was granted by King Louis XIV to Nicolas Denys (1598-1688), a colonial adventurer who wrote an important early description and history of Acadia, Description géographique et historique des costes de l'Amérique septentrionale: avec l'histoire naturelle du païs (Paris, 1672]

The Government of Sieur Charnizai in 1638 is illustrated by shaded diagonal lines  [The area includes the region granted to Charles de Menou d'Aulnay, the Sieur de Charnizay (1604-1650), in 1638 by Louis XIII.  Aulnay acted as the de facto Governor of French Acadia after deposing Charles de la La Tour).

The Government of Sieur La Tour in 1638 is illustrated by shaded vertical lines.  [This area encompasses the original grant given to the abovementioned Governor Charles de la Tour by Louis XIII in 1638].

Not surprisingly, in spite of the detailed deliberations and unprecedented investigation of historical cartography, the Joint Commission was deadlocked and unable to resolve the impasse. While the Ohio Valley Dispute is better known as a cause of the French & Indian or Seven Years' War, the Acadia Boundary Dispute was in perhaps more important, as the region represented both the gateway to New France and guarded the sea routes from the British Thirteen colonies to Europe. Also, the banks off of Nova Scotia yielded a great wealth in fisheries and timber, revenues infinitely more sizable than those received from the Ohio Country.  

States of The Map & Rarity

There are apparently two states of the map.  The first state extends only to about 49 degrees west at the top of the map (approximately 4 inches narrower than the second state) and therefore lacks the Explication and all geographical information shown to the north.

The second state, which we offer here, includes significantly more geographical information and illustrates the Acadian Boundary Dispute, and adds detail north of the old neatline at the top.

Both states are extremely rare. We located only the following examples;

  • First State:  Bibliotheque National de France (only known example)
  • Second State:  Library of Congress, John Carter Brown Library National Archives of Quebec (acquired from Skinner in 2011).
Condition Description
Old Color.