1755 Covens and Mortier Map of America w/ Sea of the West

An uncommon 1755 variant on Guillaume Delisle's map of America. The map offers much of interest, including theories regarding the Sea of the West, cities of gold in North America, El Dorado, and a magnificent whirlpool in the South Atlantic.

A Closer Look

Coverage encapsulates North and South America, the West Indies, the Atlantic Ocean, and parts of Africa and Europe, including England, Ireland, France, Italy, and Spain. It is no accident that Delisle chose to include these few Western European nations, for his goal was not only to represent the New World, but to express both connection and continuity with the Old World. Delisle includes the Treaty of Tordesillas Line running vertically through the Grand Banks and South America to bring this further into context. This line, drawn in 1494 by Pope Alexandre VI (the map incorrectly states 1493), was intended to divide the New World between Portugal and Spain.

An Important Map Updated to Include the Sea of the West

This map was first issued by Delisle in 1722 and quickly became one of the most published maps of the 18th century, passing through numerous states, editions, and piracies. The present example represents the 6th state and a particularly scarce variant, updated to incorporate the Sea of the West - a concept increasingly popular among European positivistic cartographers of the mid-18th century. The Sea of the West is presented as a vast inland body of water, often with islands, situated north of California and west of Lake Winnipeg. It is derived from a combination of wishful thinking, fictitious memoirs, and misinterpretation of factual exploration. As presented here, the Sea of the West extends inland from entrances associated with the Strait of Juan de Fuca and Martin de Aguilar, both factual explorers. Aguilar, sailing in 1682, apparently sited a 'rapid and abundant' river that he could not explore because of the swift current and dangerous entrance. (the Columbia?) Be that as it may, European powers, particularly the English and the French, relished the idea of a large inland sea that would enable them to transport their goods, mostly furs, more easily to the rich markets of Asia. As things stood in the mid-18th century, merchants carrying goods had to either sail around South America, risking pirates or worse, or negotiate with the Spanish, who operated a lucrative trade route through Mexico to Acapulco and thence to Asia.

The Kingdoms of Gold

Delisle here even goes so far as to situate the mythical golden city of Quivira on the banks of the Sea - possibly a nod to Aguilar, who was indeed searching for it even though the actual and disappointing Quivira was discovered in 1540 in the Great Plains (near Kansas) by Franciso Vasquez de Coronado. Other mythical western kingdoms are also noted, particularly Teguayo, here spelled Teguaio, situated in a mountain valley northwest of Sante Fe. Teguayo was a speculative golden city first imagined by the missionary Benevides, but popularized a generation later by the Spanish con artist Don Diego Dionisio de Penalosa, who exaggerated the glories of Teguayo to further his political agenda with the Kings of Spain and France.

The Laguna de Xarayes

In South America, Delisle maps the Laguna de Xarayes as the source of the Paraguay River. The Xarayes, a corruption of 'Xaraies' meaning 'Masters of the River,' were an indigenous people occupying what are today parts of Brazil's Matte Grosso and the Pantanal. When Spanish and Portuguese explorers first navigated the Paraguay River, as always in search of El Dorado, they encountered the vast Pantanal flood plain at the height of its annual inundation. Understandably misinterpreting the flood plain as a gigantic inland sea, they named it after the local inhabitants, the Xaraies. The Laguna de los Xarayes almost immediately began to appear on early maps of the region and, at the same time, almost immediately took on a legendary aspect. Later missionaries and chroniclers, particularly Díaz de Guzman, imagined an island in this lake and curiously identified it as an 'Island of Paradise,'

...an island [of the Paraguay River] more than ten leagues [56 km] long, two or three [11-16 km] wide. A very mild land rich in a thousand types of wild fruit, among them grapes, pears and olives: the Indians created plantations throughout, and throughout the year sow and reap with no difference in winter or summer, ... the Indians of that island are of good will and are friends to the Spaniards; Orejon they call them, and they have their ears pierced with wheels of wood ... which occupy the entire hole. They live in round houses, not as a village, but each apart though keep up with each other in much peace and friendship. They called of old this island Land of Paradise for its abundance and wonderful qualities.

To the north of the 'Island of Paradise' appeared the 'Puerto de los Reyes', which was considered a gateway to the Amazon and the Kingdom of El Dorado. D'Anville, to his credit, shows the 'Laguna' and its island in a much-reduced form compared to earlier cartographers and comments that its existence is 'dubious.'

Atlantic Whirlpools

This map also contains many other curious elements, including a maelstrom in the middle of the Atlantic Ocean. We have identified no other map to show this curious whirlpool; nevertheless, Delisle is unlikely to have imagined it and no doubt drew it from actual mariner's reports. Interestingly, modern scientists have recently identified two massive whirlpools in the South Atlantic. While not permanent, these whirlpools last several months before dissipating. One can only wonder if Delisle discovered 18th-century records of this recently rediscovered phenomenon.

Publication History

This map was issued by Covens and Mortier for the 1755 edition of the Atlas Nouveau.