Alexander Johnson is an international authority on historical cartography. Originally from Canada, he holds a PhD in History from the University of Exeter. Formerly, he was a consultant to Christies Book Department in London, and was head of the Map Department for Donald Heald, a leading antiquarian book dealer in New York. More recently, he was co-curator of Cosmography to Cartography, Indias first major exhibition of historical maps, which has been shown at the 201415 Kochi-Muzuris Biennale and at the National Museum in New Delhi. Currently, along with his wife, Dr Daa Pahor, he is the proprietor of Antiquariat Daa Pahor, an international dealer in antiquarian books, prints and maps, based in Munich.
In The First Mapping of America, Alexander Johnson tells a fascinating story of the British General Survey of North America and the groundbreaking maps it produced between the end of the Seven Years War in 1764 and the beginning of the American Revolution in 1775. Writing in an accessible and elegant style that will appeal to both scholars and map enthusiasts alike, Johnson lavishly illustrates his book with maps that have rarely been seen. His detailed research adds significantly to our knowledge of how these important surveys laid the groundwork for the explosive growth and dominance of British cartography in the nineteenth century. David Rumsey, Founder, the David Rumsey Map Collection
In the past, the overall context of the General Survey, and its significance beyond North America and the field of cartographic history, has been missed among the accounts of particular aspects and episodes. The First Mapping of America demonstrates how the General Survey is of importance far beyond the fields of colonial American and cartographic history. Skilfully weaving together multiple and complex threads administrative, political, technical, and biographical the author shows how the General Survey, as the intended basis for long-term administrative and political decisions, was regarded as being central to the ups and increasing downs of British government policy in North America after 1765. The book sheds new light on the workings of British government and colonial administration in the mid- to late eighteenth century and has much of significance for constitutional and cultural historians and historians of science. Moreover, whether in the palaces, offices and taverns of London, or in the forests and swamps and off the coasts of the North America, it is replete with stories of human interest that are clearly and elegantly recounted often in the words of the participants. Peter Barber, Emeritus Curator of Maps, British Library and author ofThe Map Book
In The First Mapping of America, Alexander Johnson makes the true story behind many of the foundational maps of the United States and Canada come alive for the first time after 250 years. A captivating must read, it is a drama of scientific discovery under extraordinary circumstances, and of personal ambition, rivalry, and political intrigue on the eve of the American Revolution. Daniel Crouch, Daniel Crouch Rare Books
TAURIS HISTORICAL GEOGRAPHY SERIES
Series Editor: Robert Mayhew, University of Bristol
Editorial Board:
David Armitage, Harvard University.
Jeremy Black, Exeter University.
Laura Cameron, Queens University, Ontario.
Felix Driver, Royal Holloway, University of London.
Michael Heffernan, Nottingham University.
Nuala Johnson, Queens University, Belfast.
David Livingstone, Queens University, Belfast.
David Matless, Nottingham University.
Miles Ogborn, Queen Mary, University of London.
David Robinson, Syracuse University.
Charles Withers, Edinburgh University.
Brenda Yeoh, National University of Singapore.
Published and forthcoming in the Series:
1.Zambesi: David Livingstone and Expeditionary Science in Africa by Lawrence Dritsas
2.New Spaces of Exploration: Geographies of Discovery in the Twentieth Century by Simon Naylor and James R. Ryan (eds)
3.Scriptural Geography: Portraying the Holy Land by Edwin James Aiken
4.Bringing Geography to Book: Ellen Semple and the Reception of Geographical Knowledge by Innes M. Keighren
5.Enlightenment, Modernity and Science: Geographies of Scientific Culture and Improvement in Georgian England by Paul A. Elliot
6.Dead Sea Level: Science, Exploration and Imperial Interests in the Near East by Haim Goren
7.Nature Displaced, Nature Displayed: Order and Beauty in Botanical Gardens by Nuala C. Johnson
8.Geography and the Classical World: Unearthing Historical Geographys Forgotten Past by William A. Koelsch
9.Imagining the Arctic: Heroism, Spectacle and Polar Exploration by Huw Lewis Jones
10.The First Mapping of America: The General Survey of British North America by Alex Johnson
11.Mapping the Holy Land: The Foundation of a Scientific Cartography of Palestine by Haim Goren, Jutta Faehndrich and Bruno Schelhaas
12.The Idea of Central Europe: Geopolitics, Culture and Regional Identity by Otilia Dhand
13.Imperial Boundary Making: Geography, Politics and the Expansion of Empire by Matthew Tillotson
For my father, Neil Alexander Johnson (19482011)
Published in 2017 by
I.B.Tauris & Co. Ltd
London New York
www.ibtauris.com
Copyright 2017 Alexander Johnson
The right of Alexander Johnson to be identified as the author of this work has been asserted by the author in accordance with the Copyright, Designs and Patents Act 1988.
All rights reserved. Except for brief quotations in a review, this book, or any part thereof, may not be reproduced, stored in or introduced into a retrieval system, or transmitted, in any form or by any means, electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording or otherwise, without the prior written permission of the publisher.
Every attempt has been made to gain permission for the use of the images in this book.
Any omissions will be rectified in future editions.
References to websites were correct at the time of writing.
Tauris Historical Geography 10
ISBN:978 1 78076 442 9
eISBN:978 1 78672 321 5
ePDF:978 1 78673 321 4
A full CIP record for this book is available from the British Library
A full CIP record is available from the Library of Congress
Library of Congress Catalog Card Number: available
Typeset by 4word Ltd, Page & Print Production, Bristol, BS13 7TT
Illustrations
Map of eastern North America on a Modern Projection, depicting the tracks of the General Survey
The Antecedents of the General Survey
Portrait of Captain Samuel Holland
Plan of the Town of Montreal, a section of Samuel Holland, John Montresor and Associates, [the Murray Map], Mss., 1762 William L. Clements Library, University of Michigan (Atl 1761 Murray, folio 3)
Thomas Jefferys, A New Map of Nova Scotia and Cape Britain (1755) David Rumsey Map Collection (4796.004)
Henry Cotes, A Sketch of the Island of St Johns in the Gulf of St Laurence, Mss., 1764 The National Archives of the UK (CO 700/Prince Edward Island 2)
Toms Lpez de Vargas Machuca and Juan de la Cruz Cano y Olmedilla, Mapa Maritimo del Golfo de Mxico e Islas de la America
