Partie Occidentale du Canada

An important map of the Great Lakes, issued by Rigobert Bonne.

This late 18th century map of the Midwestern United States and southern Canada was originally issued by Rigobert Bonne at a time of significant competition between French and English for the resources of the New World. Forts, missions, Native American tribes and scattered villages reflect the frontier composition of the depicted territory. Locations such as Fort Chicagou, Fort de Detroit, and Michilimackinac provide place names that persist to today, along with the largely recognizable outline of the Great Lakes system.

Though Bonne strived for accuracy in his role as the Royal Cartographer to France, there are numerous inaccuracies within the image; including mythical mountain ranges, non-existent rivers and the apocryphal islands of Lake Superior. Although this particular edition was issued later, in 1787, it remains an important map in the cartography of the Great Lakes and American Midwest.