The
mapping of Acadia was essentially a one-man show: Samuel de Champlain
did not lead expeditions to the region but is better remembered than
Pierre du Gua de Monts who attempted to found the first local permanent
settlement on St. Croix Island in 1604. That sojourn, in what is
now New Brunswick, ended badly and the site for settlement was
moved to Port Royal on the southern face of the Bay of Fundy.
In the next three years Champlain traveled by water mapping the area
more accurately than anyone had managed before.The above map, the first
large scale map of present-day Nova Scotia, depicts a landfall one
harbour west of Mahone Bay. Note the rounded hills, which are drumlins.
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Champlain's Geographical Map of New France. Sent
out to assess the economic and agricultural capabilities of this place,
Champlain visited, explored and gathered second-hand information as the
basis for more general maps. The failed settlement at St. Croix is not
indicated on this map but "La Have" is indicated on the south western
shore of Nova Scotia.
He had this map published in Les Voyages de Champlain,
1613, a prospectus for settlement, otherwise known as propaganda. The
map exists in an earlier version (1612) which omits the Ottawa River.
Hudson's Bay was borrowed from a 1612 map by Gerritsz, showing Henry
Hudson's explorations. |
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Portion of a map by John Blaeu of the Netherlands, (1662) entitled Extrema Americae.
This map had decoration as a primary motive. Although decades after the
fact, its geography closely follows the Champlain maps which went
through numerous publications until 1632. The fine engraving and
hand-colouring made for a very pretty viewing experience.
The map appeared in his Atlas Major,
a massive 12-volume set of books containing almost 600 maps. It is
still considered to be among the finest atlases ever produced.
La Have, which for a brief spell became the capital of New France,
was of course shown, but the villages of Lunenburg and
Mahone Bay were not, their appearance being almost a century in the
future. |
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