Carte de la Louisiane et de la Floride

An interesting map of the early American South.

This fascinating map of the southern part of the newly-established United States was created by French cartographer Rigobert Bonne and published in Paris around 1787. Pictorial topography emphasizes the Appalachian Mountains – a longstanding (although ambiguously defined) boundary between lands claimed by Britain (east) and France/Spain (west). Toponyms identify a mix of Native American villages, geographic features, frontier fortifications, and European settlements. Rather boldly, the label for the French territory of Louisiana encompasses both sides of the Mississippi River, well into the established boundaries of the United States. An inset in the lower left shows a western extension of the Missouri River, noting the location of the abandoned Fort Orleans and villages of the Osages and Kansez.