Carte da la Louisiane et Pays Voisins

Title

Carte da la Louisiane et Pays Voisins

Description

Map shows Louisiana, Arkansas, Mississippi, Alabama, partially Florida and a title cartouche.

ca. 1757

Artist

Bellin (1703-1772)

Jacques-Nicolas Bellin (1703 Paris -1772 Versailles) was a French cartographer, engineer-geographer, marine hydrographer. As a contributor to the Encyclopédie, he wrote more than a thousand articles on maritime topics. As a cartographer, Bellin distinguished himself primarily in the field of sea cartography. From 1721 he worked for the Dépot des Cartes et Plans de la Marine, from 1741 until his death as an engineer-hydrograph of the Navy. In 1753 his atlas Neptune français, which covered all the coasts of France, was published, and in 1756 the hydrography françoise covering all seas of the earth. In 1764 the five-volume Petit Atlas maritime was published, which Bellin prepared on the orders of the Minister of the Navy, Choiseul. In addition, he wrote a number of geographical works and with Nouvelle méthode pour apprendre la geographie (1769) a geographic textbook for teaching. His maps illustrated, among other things, Bougainville's work Voyage autour du monde, published in 1771. As a co-author of the Encyclopédie edited by Diderot and d'Alembert, Bellin wrote more than a thousand articles in the field of shipping and navy.

Historical Description

The discovery of America signifies the first sighting of the American continent by seafarers. Before Columbus' arrival in 1492, North America may have had more inhabitants than Europe at that time. In 1497, the Genoese John Cabot (actually: Giovanni Caboto) was the first European to set foot on North American soil since the Vikings. However, no permanent settlements were established for the time being. St. Augustine in Florida, founded by the Spanish in 1565, is considered the first city on the North American mainland and is also the oldest city in the United States. In the European conquest of North America, four states stood out, each of which facilitated the seizure: England was under pressure to emigrate, in part because of religion, and thus was able to represent the largest group numerically. France had special skills in dealing with indigenous peoples, which later led to the only mixed ethnic group, the Métis .Netherlands had the financial resources to establish colonies in North America. Spain had enormous military potential because of its battle experience. In 1604, the King of England, James I, divided his North American colonies as follows: The area from the 1st to the 41st parallel is said to be settled by the Virginia Company of London, the area from the 41st to the 45th degree by the Plymouth Company. 1607 is considered the founding year of the first permanent colony of English settlers on the east coast of America. There was a collision between three cultures: Indians, white settlers and slaves from Africa. In that year, the first settlers from England landed at Jamestown, followed by the (better known) Pilgrims on the Mayflower in what is now the state of Massachusetts. These could find shelter directly in the abandoned Indian settlements. The coastal Indians were now ready to cooperate and had established Plymouth the English gateway to North America.