Carte Particuliere du Fleuve Saint Louis…

European claims along the St. Lawrence and Great Lakes in the early 18th century.

This crisp copperplate engraved map shows a broad area across colonial North America between the Upper Mississippi River and the Gulf of St. Lawrence. It includes Hudson Bay, the Great Lakes, and portions of New France and New England. Numerous annotations provide a wealth of contemporary detail across the image.

The ongoing tension between these European powers and the indigenous inhabitants is reflected in the numerous frontier fortifications and ‘savage’ villages (including destroyed ones) identified in the legend in the upper right. Hunting grounds, river portages, and rapids are also noted and highlight economic and commercial interests. These are further elaborated by the blocks of text surrounding the image.

The left-hand side lists the various Native American tribes, organized by geographic region. The bottom names the abundant variety of animal, plant, fish, bird, and fruit species that can be found across North America. The far-right panel provides information on popular trade goods, along with their approximate value for local trade.

This fascinating geographic and political overview of New France was published in Amsterdam by Henri Chatelain around 1719. It was included as part of his monumental seven-volume work, Atlas Historique.