1 janv. 1607 - Champlain maps the New England coast

Description:

This parchment paper chart, in the port-guide style, was compiled by Samuel de Champlain (1567-1635), founder of New France, and was initially intended for presentation to the king of France. One of America's great cartographic treasures, the map provides the first complete delineation of the New England and Canadian coastlines from Cape Sable to Cape Cod, showing Port Royal; Frenchman's Bay; the St. John, St. Croix, Penobscot, and Kennebec Rivers; and Mount Desert Island, which Champlain himself named. The toponyms and the coastline correspond very closely to Champlain's account in his Travels, published in 1613. Champlain himself designed and drew the chart. Most charts of the time were prepared by professional cartographers who relied on information obtained from explorers and navigators. Champlain based this work entirely on his own exploration and observations, including interviews with Native Americans, and his own mathematical calculations. The map shows residences along the waterfront, both French settlements and Indian villages. Forests are represented by stylized drawings of trees. Hill symbols indicate higher elevations, visible from the coast. Dangerous sandbanks are shown as groups of small dots, and anchors represent places where Champlain himself anchored.

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