Terra Incognita
Throughout the 17th and 18th centuries, French, Spanish and British colonists and (after the American Revolution) the citizens of the United States continued to expand their settlements westward. The system of lakes and rivers first navigated by La Salle in 1682 provided transportation routes upon which all trade and exploration were dependent. As colonists, missionaries and fur traders became more familiar with the waterways lying between Hudson's Bay and the Gulf of Mexico, maps of the interior grew in detail.

Delisle map of America, 1730
Map of America
by Guillaume Delisle, ca. 1730

Click here for larger image and to learn more about this map.
 
Map of Louisiana produced in France, 1730
Map of Louisiana and the Mississippi River by Guillaume Delisle, ca. 1730
Click here for larger image and to learn more about this map.
 
Delisle map of the world, 18th century
Map of the World, created for the king of France by Guillaume Delisle, ca. 1730
Click here for larger image and to learn more about this map.
Exhibition
Home
Terra
Incognita
The
Louisiana
Purchase
Preparing
for the
Journey
The
Lewis & Clark
Expedition
The Maps of
Lewis & Clark
Native
American
Contributions
The
"Writingest
Explorers"
Map
Activities
& Games

Mercantile
Exhibits
Home