Amerique Septentrionale

Copperplate engraved map of North America published in the midst of the American Revolution.

This fascinating map of North America was published in Geneva by Rigobert Bonne in 1780 for inclusion in his Atlas de toutes les parties connues du globe terrestre. The eastern half of the continent, currently battleground in the ongoing American Revolution, in shown in some detail; but the western half is notably devoid of geographic information outside of a few scattered place names, including a prominent Sante Fe. (A later issue would fill the Pacific Northwest area with a large, fictitious Sea of the West).

Numerous Native American tribes are also noted. The Arctic Circle seems to omit much hope for the Northwest Passage, but Alaska displays an interesting archipelago configuration, with one of the largest islands labeled ‘Alaschka’.