1747 Bowen Map of the Southeastern United States (Carolina, Georgia, Florida)

Southern frontiers of the British Colonies in North America.

This is a strong example of Emmanuel Bowen's 1747 map of the Carolinas and Georgia. The map reveals the region against the rising hostilities that would soon culminate in the French and Indian War (1754 - 1763). Among its highlights are the defenses of the Georgia colony - then just 13 years old. It also notes the American Indian treaties and alliances that were the cornerstone of British colonial governance and commerce.

A Closer Look

The map spans from the mouth of the Chesapeake Bay to St. Augustine, Florida, and from Louisiana to the Atlantic. Introduced in the second edition of Bowen's important Complete System of Geography, this map delineates the colonial boundaries of North Carolina, Virginia, South Carolina, and Florida. The border with Florida, in particular, is ambiguous. Florida, after all, was Spanish territory at the time this map was produced. Indeed, Spain and Great Britain were at war (the War of Jenkins' Ear, which ran from 1739 to 1748). Several Spanish forts and 'lookouts' are noted on the north Florida coast, including the Spanish strongpoint at St. Augustine. One of the overriding reasons for the foundation of the Georgia colony was to establish a strong border with Spanish Florida. Just thirteen years after its founding in Savannah, the Georgia colony was well-defended through a series of fortifications and towns along the coast and dotting the inland riverways.

The Interior

The map's clearest information can be found in the British coastal settlements, but the interior is also rich with interesting detail, particularly with respect to the powerful Native American nations found there. In particular, Bowen highlights the Cherokee and Catawba, and describes a 1745 treaty between them and Britain to create a buffer against the French to the west, and to protect the British colonies' flank against Spain. Britain's policy of creating alliances with Indigenous tribes on the frontiers was practical. This tactic also opened Cherokee lands to British merchants and traders, as is evidenced by several English factories and forts appearing in the Cherokee-dominated portion of what is ostensibly French Louisiana. In Florida, the Okefenokee Swamp separates Spanish and British dominions. Here we can read a clear differentiation in colonizing philosophy. Where the British relied on treaties, settlement, and commercial development to further their interest in American Indian-held lands, the Spanish converted the populace through Catholic missions. In the northern part of Florida alone, seven missions are identified: St. Francisco, St. Peter, St Mathew, St. John, St. Paul, and St. Mark.

Sources

Cumming describes this map as a copy of the Carolina sheet of Popple's 1733 map of the British Empire in America, but while much of its content is sourced from the Popple, Bowen's map is not a rote copy and adds information not present on that map. Scanning the coastal areas of North Carolina, the present map bears more similarity to Edward Moseley's 1733 map than to the comparatively crude Popple. (For example, the lakes in the 'Dismal Swamp' north of Pamlico Sound resemble those on the Moseley and are not on the Popple. Cape Fear also more closely matches Moseley than Popple.)

Publication History and Census

This map was introduced as plate no. 76 in the 1747 second edition of Bowen's Complete System of Geography. A further state was printed in 1752 for inclusion in Bowen's A Complete Atlas, unchanged except for the plate number. (This 1747 exhibits 'No. 76' at the lower right; the 1752 second state has the plate number 60 appearing at the lower left.) We see nine examples of the first 1747 issue listed in OCLC.

Cartographer

Emanuel Bowen (1694 - May 8, 1767) was a Welsh cartographer, map engraver, and publisher active in London during the first half and middle of the 18th century. Born at Talley, Carmarthenshire, he was apprenticed in 1709 to the London engraver and globe-maker Charles Price, beginning a career that combined the compilation of geographical information with copperplate engraving for booksellers and map publishers. His early work included maps for an Atlas of the World issued in 1717, followed by Britannia Depicta; or, Ogilby Improv'd (1720), prepared with John Owen, which brought together reduced road-strip maps, county maps, and historical and heraldic information in a portable volume. In 1729, Bowen published a subscription-funded map of South Wales, substantially improving the region's cartographic representation; the map's geographical information subsequently informed his Welsh county maps. After working at several London addresses, he established workshops in Aldersgate, Smithfield, and Clerkenwell, producing maps extensively for other publishers rather than relying on a prominent retail shop. His international cartography included maps for A Complete System of Geography (1744 - 1747), the 1744-48 edition of Navigantium atque itinerantium bibliotheca, and A Complete Atlas (1752). He became geographer to George II around 1747. Among his apprentices were Thomas Kitchin (1719 - 1784), who married Bowen's daughter Sarah in 1739, and Thomas Jefferys (1719 - 1771), apprenticed in 1735. With Kitchin, Bowen produced the county maps issued between 1749 and 1760 that formed The Large English Atlas; their collaboration continued in The Royal English Atlas around 1763. His maps characteristically combined detailed geographical engraving and ornamental cartouches with extensive historical, economic, and topographical annotations. Despite his substantial output and royal appointment, Bowen died in reduced circumstances in 1767. His son and fellow engraver, Thomas Bowen (d. 1790), continued his cartographic work, including Atlas Anglicanus (1767 - 1768), which was completed and issued after Emanuel's death.   Further Details...

Source

Bowen, E., A Complete System of Geography. Being a description of all the countries, islands, cities, chief towns, harbours, lakes, and rivers, mountains, mines, etc. of the known world …, (London: Innys) 1747.    

Condition

Very good. Invisible mend with no loss at upper left; else excellent with a sharp strike and generous margins.

References

OCLC 20309110. Rumsey 3733.059. Cumming, W. P., The Southeast in Early Maps, 263. Williams, Gregory W. and Johnson, Allen S., Tar Heel Maps: Colony and State, 1590 - 1995, #9. Sellers, John R. and Van Ee, P., Maps and Charts of North America and the West Indies 1750 - 1789, #1380.