68 A HISTORY OF AMERICA IN 100 MAPS
Herman Moll, “A New Map of the North
Parts of America Claimed by France,”
1720 (pages 70–1)
The primary goal of de L’Isle’s map—shown here and
on the prior page—was to limit the British presence
in North America. The main area of contention was
the Ohio Valley shown at right, which he mapped
as both devoid of British settlers and home to
native tribes. To assert French power, he boldly and
expansively marked the interior as “La Louisiane,”
effectively trapping the British colonies along the
eastern seaboard and relegating Spain’s “Nouveau
Mexique” to the continent’s western edge. To add
insult to injury, de L’Isle’s annotations suggested
that Charleston and Carolina were named for
French—rather than English—royalty.
De L’Isle published the map just as the French
founded the port of New Orleans in 1718. The
geography reinforces the political message: in
de L’Isle’s rendering the Mississippi River watershed
“naturally” aligns with the extent of French territory.
Given how unclear imperial claims remained after
the Treaty of Utrecht, it is difficult to imagine a
more strategic use of cartography. While the British
were impressed by de L’Isle’s cartographic skill and
command of geography, they were outraged by
his overt attempt to encroach upon British claims.
The map also confirmed British fears that French
knowledge of geography was far superior to their
own. De L’Isle’s map raised the stakes of the
geopolitical struggle between Britain and France
over control of the American interior.
Herman Moll responded in kind with a map of
his own. Moll was a leading map publisher of the
early eighteenth century. In 1715 he published a
map that depicted the British dominions along
the eastern seaboard as strategically positioned
relative to the rest of the continent. Moll was thus
particularly troubled by de L’Isle’s 1718 map, which
attempted to limit Britain’s territorial sphere. He
responded with the pointedly titled “New Map of the
North Parts of America Claimed by France”
(next page).
The very title of the map hints at Moll’s sense
of disbelief: how could de L’Isle claim that the
“adjoining territories” of England and Spain were
marginal to the French center? His map dripped with
sarcasm, sniping that “all within the Blew Colour”
is what is “claim’d” by France, while “The Yellow
Colour what they allow ye English.” In characterizing
de L’Isle’s map as propaganda, Moll aimed both
to challenge French claims and to fortify British
settlements beyond the seaboard.
To this end, he labeled French territorial claims as
“incroachments,” which were all the more outlandish
to him given how few of them had actually settled
North America. He even urged the British to preserve
alliances with the Iroquois and Cherokee as a way of
containing the French. Over the next few decades the
British became increasingly aware of the threat posed
by the French around the Great Lakes, which they
considered an extension of British territory in light of
their relationship with the Iroquois or “Five Nations.”
Moll repeatedly referenced these alliances on his
map. He also reached back into history, invoking John
Cabot’s arrival in the New World in 1498 as evidence
of British sovereignty in North America.
Though Moll criticized de L’Isle’s map as a
source of French imperialism, he also acknowledged
its importance as a geographical document; in fact,
Moll’s map directly relied on de L’Isle. But Moll made
geographical contributions of his own, particularly in
his representation of the topography, road system,
and Indian settlements of the Carolina backcountry.
His larger purpose with this map, however, was not
to uncover geographical knowledge but to limit
French power. Note that he claimed Newfoundland
to the Carolinas as British land. With this wider
geographical scope, he visually reduced French
claims. The coat of arms at left projected British
power further, not just in the east but across the
continent. Noticeable as well are the notations of
“good pasture ground” and “good ground,” and
especially the general absence of an Appalachian
range, which de L’Isle had used on his map as a
natural western barrier to the British colonies.