historical maps
18th century views of my 21st century world
Below is one of the holy grails of Northwest coast cartography, published by Vaugondy in 1755. I acquired an
original print at very reasonable price from an obscure French eBay listing. This map is important enough to have
served as the inside cover of Derek Hayes' excellent "Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest" (pictured below). If
you find these pages interesting, click on the book to go to Amazon.com immediately!
original print at very reasonable price from an obscure French eBay listing. This map is important enough to have
served as the inside cover of Derek Hayes' excellent "Historical Atlas of the Pacific Northwest" (pictured below). If
you find these pages interesting, click on the book to go to Amazon.com immediately!
| Click on all images to enlarge in a new window. |
Before adding my own
comments, I will cite
parts of Mr Hayes'
descriptions (in italics
below) of this very
important map:
comments, I will cite
parts of Mr Hayes'
descriptions (in italics
below) of this very
important map:
In 1708 , a short-lived British magazine called 'Memoirs for the Curious' published what purported to be a newly
discovered account of a voyage into the northern Pacific Ocean by a Spanish admiral named Bartholomew de Fonte
in 1640. In sailing north along the caost, de Fonte was said to have entered a strait which led to a great inland sea
and met a ship from Boston which had supposedely arrived through a Northwest Passage. Inconsistencies in this
story plus modern geography show that this voyage was ficticious. Nevertheless, this account was widely read and
was to have an effect on later explorers and mapmakers.
The chief culprit responsible for the introduction of the de Fonte account to the maps of the nortwest coast of North
America was the French geographer Joseph-Nicolas de L'Isle, the yonger brother of the more famous French
mapmaker Guillaume de L'Isle. Joseph-Nicolas spent twenty-one years at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St.
Petersburg, and when he retured to Paris to join his brother-in-law Phillipe Buache to produce maps, he brought with
him some maps he had acquired from the Academy. In 1752 he published a map which showed previously unknown
discoveries by the Russians. However, on the northwest coast of America he constructed an elaborate speculative
map using the de Fonte account as its basis. Changed and futher elaborated upon by others, most notably and
spectacularly by Robert de Vaugondy, who in 1755 published another elaboration (this map, shown above) in Denis
Diderot's 'Enclyclopedié, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne de Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers'. Another map published in
the Encyclopedié was Philippe Buache's Carte des Nouvelles Découvertes, a likewise fictitious and fantastic map of
the northwest. (See Buache's map here).
These maps demonstrate the extent to which total fabrication can become imbedded in knowledge, for the
Encyclopedié was perhaps the most massive gathering of knowledge attempted in the eighteenth century, and was its
most succesful publishing venture. It had twenty-eight volumes, later expanded to thirty-five, with 8,000 articles and
3,000 plates, and represtend the work of the leading French thinkers of the day, including for example, Voltaire,
Rousseau, Turgot, d'Holbach and Quesnay. It was not only a comprehensive view of the knowledge of the day but
also a manifesto of the Enlightenment, so much so that in 1759 it was banned by the King and the Church.
The maps show the supposed discoveries of Admiral de Fonte in the myriad of archipelagos and channels striking
east towards Hudson's Bay. They also show the Mer l'Ouest (Sea of the West) supposedly discovered by Juan de
Fuca in 1592. Kamchatka and the eastern coast of Siberia are shown relatively accurately, as is the track of Alexei
Chirikov, who, with VItus Bering, discovered the northwestern coast for Russia in 1741. The reason for this relatively
accurate track is that de L'Isle's brother-in-law, Louis de L'Isle de la Croyère, sailed with Chirikov as astronomer.
Their landfall, however, was only a point, clearly easy to misinterpret in the context of a whole coastline.
James Cook's maps still left gaps in the which the theoretical geographers coud run riot, and it took the surveys of
George Vancouver finally to put an end to this cartographic nonsense.
Vaugondy made several versions of this map over several years and for the expanding number of volumes for the
Encylcopedié. See a later version here where he mentions that the De Fonte story might not be true after all, and
another here where he drops the De Fonte "discoveries" altogether.
discovered account of a voyage into the northern Pacific Ocean by a Spanish admiral named Bartholomew de Fonte
in 1640. In sailing north along the caost, de Fonte was said to have entered a strait which led to a great inland sea
and met a ship from Boston which had supposedely arrived through a Northwest Passage. Inconsistencies in this
story plus modern geography show that this voyage was ficticious. Nevertheless, this account was widely read and
was to have an effect on later explorers and mapmakers.
The chief culprit responsible for the introduction of the de Fonte account to the maps of the nortwest coast of North
America was the French geographer Joseph-Nicolas de L'Isle, the yonger brother of the more famous French
mapmaker Guillaume de L'Isle. Joseph-Nicolas spent twenty-one years at the Russian Academy of Sciences in St.
Petersburg, and when he retured to Paris to join his brother-in-law Phillipe Buache to produce maps, he brought with
him some maps he had acquired from the Academy. In 1752 he published a map which showed previously unknown
discoveries by the Russians. However, on the northwest coast of America he constructed an elaborate speculative
map using the de Fonte account as its basis. Changed and futher elaborated upon by others, most notably and
spectacularly by Robert de Vaugondy, who in 1755 published another elaboration (this map, shown above) in Denis
Diderot's 'Enclyclopedié, ou Dictionnaire Raisonne de Sciences, des Arts et des Metiers'. Another map published in
the Encyclopedié was Philippe Buache's Carte des Nouvelles Découvertes, a likewise fictitious and fantastic map of
the northwest. (See Buache's map here).
These maps demonstrate the extent to which total fabrication can become imbedded in knowledge, for the
Encyclopedié was perhaps the most massive gathering of knowledge attempted in the eighteenth century, and was its
most succesful publishing venture. It had twenty-eight volumes, later expanded to thirty-five, with 8,000 articles and
3,000 plates, and represtend the work of the leading French thinkers of the day, including for example, Voltaire,
Rousseau, Turgot, d'Holbach and Quesnay. It was not only a comprehensive view of the knowledge of the day but
also a manifesto of the Enlightenment, so much so that in 1759 it was banned by the King and the Church.
The maps show the supposed discoveries of Admiral de Fonte in the myriad of archipelagos and channels striking
east towards Hudson's Bay. They also show the Mer l'Ouest (Sea of the West) supposedly discovered by Juan de
Fuca in 1592. Kamchatka and the eastern coast of Siberia are shown relatively accurately, as is the track of Alexei
Chirikov, who, with VItus Bering, discovered the northwestern coast for Russia in 1741. The reason for this relatively
accurate track is that de L'Isle's brother-in-law, Louis de L'Isle de la Croyère, sailed with Chirikov as astronomer.
Their landfall, however, was only a point, clearly easy to misinterpret in the context of a whole coastline.
James Cook's maps still left gaps in the which the theoretical geographers coud run riot, and it took the surveys of
George Vancouver finally to put an end to this cartographic nonsense.
Vaugondy made several versions of this map over several years and for the expanding number of volumes for the
Encylcopedié. See a later version here where he mentions that the De Fonte story might not be true after all, and
another here where he drops the De Fonte "discoveries" altogether.
The entire "account" of de Fonte as published was only seven pages long.
Not much to go on. Interestingly, Vaugondy includes a small insert of a
map which he says was "drafted on the De Fonte's letter by writer from
California". It shows features mentioned in the letter including the "lands
up to 66°N visited by the Jesuits". Based only on this, he draws the
fantastic main map with all its fictional detail, filling in the gaps between the
well-charted Hudson's Bay and the Spanish coast of Upper California.
Not much to go on. Interestingly, Vaugondy includes a small insert of a
map which he says was "drafted on the De Fonte's letter by writer from
California". It shows features mentioned in the letter including the "lands
up to 66°N visited by the Jesuits". Based only on this, he draws the
fantastic main map with all its fictional detail, filling in the gaps between the
well-charted Hudson's Bay and the Spanish coast of Upper California.