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| historical maps |
| 18th century views of my 21st century world |
| In addition to the De Fonte voyage, Vaugondy seems to put every other Pacific myth on this map as well. Another myth of supposed Spanish discovery was "De Gama land" which supposedly lay in the North Pacific between America and Asia at around 46°N lattitude. Part of Bering and Chirikov's mission in 1741 was to find this. After over a week of sailing from Kamchatka they were convinced De Gama land was a myth, yet Vaugondy puts it on the map anyway, conveniently out of their path next the similarly fictious "Company Lands" to the East of Yeso (Hokkaido/Sakhalin). Fortunately the De L'Isle brother-in-law was sailing on Chirikov's ship, since it was on this mission that Bering was shipwrecked and died. |
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| Click to enlarge |
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| Meanwhile, back on the American continent he shows the familiar myths of Spanish exploration: the entry to the Sea of the West supposedly discovered by Greek pilot Juan de Fuca, sailing for Spain in 1592. The entrance supposedly discovered by Martin d'Aguilar beyond Cape Blanco that was automatically assumed to lead to the same sea. Yes, even "Quivira" and "Teguaio" appear again, just over the next mountains (as usual) from the Zuni, and by this time crowded up against the Western Sea. The only accurate points shown on this map are the capes and bays of California and some of the interior charted by the Spanish, Hudson's Bay and the northern plains (to the Sioux) charted by the English and French-speaking voyageurs, and the limited landfall points in 1741 by the Russians in what is now Alaska. |
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| Detials of the North American section of the map. |