66 A HISTORY OF AMERICA IN 100 MAPS
THE WAR OF THE MAPS
Guillaume de L’Isle, “Carte de la
Louisiane et du Cours du Mississipi,”
1718
Vincenzo Coronelli’s map of North America on page 60
documents the contemporary confusion regarding
the path of the Mississippi River and its tributaries.
That mystery was largely solved by Guillaume de L’Isle,
whose maps of the interior represent a quantum leap
of geographical accuracy. In recognition of these skills
he was named cartographer to the French king, and his
maps remained influential throughout the eighteenth
century. For our purposes, de L’Isle is central not only
because of his geographical precision, but also because
of his ability to advance French territorial claims
through his masterful map of “La Louisiane” in 1718.
The conflict between the French and the British was
rooted in opposing views of territorial sovereignty. The
French claimed that the explorations by Robert de La
Salle up the Mississippi River gave them rights not only
to the river, but also to its tributaries. Conversely, the
British asserted that the Treaty of Utrecht (1713) awarded
them control of the same region via their relationship
with the Iroquois. These competing interpretations
of sovereignty set up an unresolvable conflict. In this
context, de L’Isle was asked to make a map of North
America that would ground and defend French claims to
the continent. Rather than solely relying on past maps,
he sought new and firsthand information such as field
reports from trappers and traders. The result was both
geographically precise and full of propaganda.
De L’Isle used the map to stretch the French sphere
of influence to its limits. He centered the map on
the French claim to the Mississippi River, elegantly
presented as the axis of the continent. The tributaries
extend that claim both east and west.
By marking the routes of La Salle, Bienville, and
St. Denis across the southern portion of the map,
de L’Isle sought to buttress French claims to the lower
Mississippi River and its tributaries. The map became
an instrument of strategy and diplomacy, an indication
that the French sought to amplify, rather than diminish,
their presence in the region. These imperial designs
are apparent elsewhere on the map. De L’Isle took
care to identify former and current native villages in
order to present the interior as an inhabited space. The
French had limited interest in settling this territory, and
instead focused on its mineral wealth. In this context,
the native inhabitants were not rivals; instead, they
were diplomatic allies, trade partners, geographical
informants and, potentially, even a source of labor.