Carte de la Partie Interieure de L’Amerique Septentrionale

An early effort to map a waterborne crossing of North America.

John Meares was an Irish explorer and entrepreneur who was interested in the Pacific Northwest for commercial reasons, namely the fur trade. However, the British East India Company had a monopoly on the lucrative exchange with China, so Meares proceeded to bend the rules by flying under Portuguese and Chinese flags. His unscrupulous dealings irritated the Spanish, who also laid claim to the territory, and his actions led to a diplomatic impasse known as the Nootka Crises, which saw Spain and Britain on the brink of war in 1790.

This map was originally published during, or shortly after, the affair, when Meares was able to exploit the public’s interest to its maximum. It shows the northern part of North America between Hudson’s Bay and the Pacific Ocean and speculates on possible water passages between the two. The Oregon River and a connection through Great Slave Lake (named after the local Slavey people) are two possibilities. Issued in a French edition of Meare’s report on the expedition.