A General Map of the Middle British Colonies in America

This important pre-Revolution map of the Mid-Atlantic Colonies shows the territories in the Ohio River Valley gained after the French & Indian War, praising the potential wealth of this land.



The first edition of this map was published in 1755 by Lewis Evans in Philadelphia. The Evans map is regarded as one of the most significant pre-Independence maps of the Thirteen Colonies due to its richness of detail. Our example was "carefully copied" and reissued by Carington Bowles in London in 1771 with updates to the show the results of the English victory in the French & Indian War. A large inset shows the entirety of the Ohio River Basin.



When Lewis first published this map, the French & Indian War had only just begun and the outcome was far from certain. Lewis noted that the land at stake (the Ohio River Valley) was "as great a prize as has ever been contended for between two Nations". Further notes on the map list the commodities in which the area was particularly wealthy: "salt, coal, limestone, grindstone, millstone , clay for glass houses and pottery". Other notes mention "lofty timber oak for ship building and excellent land for settlements" and even "petroleum" in western Pennsylvania. Bowles has updated Evans's map to reflect the destruction of Fort Duquesne and its re-establishement as Pittsburgh.



The map also explores in great detail the territories controlled by the Five Nations of the Iroquois Confederacy with paragraphs explaining their changing allegiance from France to Britain, and the treaty agreement by which the Iroquois became a protectorate of Britain after the war in exchange for access to their valuable beaver hunting grounds. Native American towns are marked on the map, both inhabited and "ancient". Areas where "antique sculptures" had been discovered are also marked.



Original hand-colour. [USA9167]