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Fine early 18th-century map of "Carolina" by Herman Moll.
The map covers the area from the Appalachian Mountains in the west to Cape Charles in the north to the B. St. Matheo and May River in the south, centered on the coastal region surrounding Charleston and Cape Fear.
Moll's craftsmanship is evident in the map's precision and aesthetic. Cities, rivers, and regions are clearly defined, with the topography of the mountains and coastlines. A remarkable feature is the inclusion of early roads extending from Charleston and Fort St. Augustine in Florida into the interior regions, showing the primary trading routes which reached well into the regions dominated by Indigenous villages which are shown on the map.
An inscription explains that the English claimed Carolina based on John Cabot's explorations in 1498 under the commission of King Henry VII. However, it wasn't until 1663 that English possession was formalized under King Charles II, who granted a patent for planting territories within specific latitudes.
The map also notes significant historical events. It identifies a site in Bath County where Colonel Barnewell defeated the Indians in 1712, a major episode in the Tuscarora War. Similarly, a spot in Granville County marks where Colonel Craven "routed" the Indians in 1716, contributing to the English dominance in the region.
Moll’s map additionally indicates two southern boundaries with Florida. The first, referred to as the "Limit Of King Charles II," represents the original boundary granted to Carolina proprietors in 1663. The second, "the south bounds of Carolina according to the last charter," signifies the later revised boundary. These two lines encapsulate the changes in territorial control during the period of colonial expansion.
In essence, the "Carolina" map by Herman Moll serves as more than a geographical representation. It is a historical document, capturing the events, territorial shifts, and colonial aspirations that shaped early Carolina.
The note below the title provides an explanation of the Carolina claim from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean.
The English Claim the Property of Carolina from Lat. 29 &c. Degrees as part of Cabot's Discoveries who set out from Briston in 1498, at the Charge of King Henry ye 7th but they did not take Possession of that Country till King Charles the II's time in 1663 who Granted a patent to divers Persons to plant all the Territories within the North Lat. of 31 to 36 Deg. and 50 west in a direct line to the South Sea.
Herman Moll (c. 1654-1732) was one of the most important London mapmakers in the first half of the eighteenth century. Moll was probably born in Bremen, Germany, around 1654. He moved to London to escape the Scanian Wars. His earliest work was as an engraver for Moses Pitt on the production of the English Atlas, a failed work which landed Pitt in debtor's prison. Moll also engraved for Sir Jonas Moore, Grenville Collins, John Adair, and the Seller & Price firm. He published his first original maps in the early 1680s and had set up his own shop by the 1690s.
Moll's work quickly helped him become a member of a group which congregated at Jonathan's Coffee House at Number 20 Exchange Alley, Cornhill, where speculators met to trade stock. Moll's circle included the scientist Robert Hooke, the archaeologist William Stuckley, the authors Jonathan Swift and Daniel Defoe, and the intellectually-gifted pirates William Dampier, Woodes Rogers and William Hacke. From these contacts, Moll gained a great deal of privileged information that was included in his maps.
Over the course of his career, he published dozens of geographies, atlases, and histories, not to mention numerous sheet maps. His most famous works are Atlas Geographus, a monthly magazine that ran from 1708 to 1717, and The World Described (1715-54). He also frequently made maps for books, including those of Dampier’s publications and Swift’s Gulliver’s Travels. Moll died in 1732. It is likely that his plates passed to another contemporary, Thomas Bowles, after this death.
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