1852 Pasquier de Dommartin Map of Chihuahua, Mexico (Resisting US Expansionism)

French Colony on the Mexico-Texas Border to buffer against U.S. Expansionism.

This is Hyppolite du Pasquier de Dommartin's rare 1852 map of U.S.-Mexico borderlands between Texas and Chihuahua, here accompanied by Dommartin's 88-page essay (manifesto) calling for a French Colony to be established on the U.S.-Mexico border to buffer against future U.S. imperialism.

Dommartin Colony

Dommartin arrived in the United States in the immediate wake of the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848) and the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1849), which forced Mexico to cede vast territories to the United States - including present-day California, New Mexico, Arizona, Nevada, Utah, and parts of Colorado. This dramatic territorial expansion marked a turning point in North American geopolitics. It caused concern in Europe, especially in France and Great Britain, as it signaled the rise of the United States as the dominant power on the continent.

Dommartin argued that the United States would continue its expansionist agenda to the detriment not only of other American powers but of European (particularly French and British) interests in America. He correctly foresaw that the U.S.'s economic self-sufficiency and industrial power would soon challenge European dominance, both commercially and geopolitically. The counter for this, he argued, would be a European colony on the border of the Mexican state of Chihuahua and the U.S. state of Texas.

To this end, he negotiated a generous grant from the Chihuahua Congress on April 11, 1850. Though dependent on settlers, the terms were generous, offering Dommartin 5,000 square varas (about 2.6 square miles) of land per 1,000 settlers. The colony was to be populated by 25,000 European Catholics from France, Belgium, Germany, Italy, and Spain. He proposed two new cities along the Rio Grande just southeast of El Paso (Paso del Norte): Guadeloupe and Pilares. Both appear on this map along with the dates of their founding - 1850 (to be fair, both of these sites have a history predating Dommartin, but neither was significant).

Guadeloupe is still there. Pilares, though shown on this map on the west side of the Rio Grande, is often associated with the Texas town of Porvenir. In the Handbook of Texas, Pilares was the site of a presidio, penal colony, and silver ore smelter. The Texas Handbook places Pilares on the Texas side of the Rio Grande.

A Closer Look at the Map

The map is derived from a 1846 survey produced at the order of General Stephen W. Kearney (1794 - 1848) and Lieutenant Philip St. George Cooke (1809 - 1895) during the Mexican-American War. Its coverage is focused on the western side (Mexican) of the Rio Grande, detailing specifically the state of Chihuahua, with parts of Adjacent Texas and Sonora. The map notes forts (Presidios; both abandoned and inhabited), various towns and villages, private lands, natural resources (lumber, minerals), and transportation networks. It also, interestingly, includes the sites of several pre-Columbian and possible American Indian Ruins, including 'Grande Quivira' (Salinas Pueblo Missions National Monument) in New Mexico and 'Casas Grandes de la Mahnzin' (Paquimé, now a UNESCO World Heritage Site) in Chihuahua. An inset in the lower left details broader trade networks.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by L. Bouffard and printed by Lemercier in Paris. The accompanying essay was written by Hyppolite du Pasquier de Dommartin, printed by Imprimerie e Crapelet, and published in Paris in 1852 by Librarie de Guilluamin. We can confirm holdings at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, Library of Congress, the Huntington, and the New York Public Library. We see a single example of the separate map having appeared on the market, but no examples of the separate book or the set.

Condition

Very good. Slight offsetting. Text volume fine.

References

Bibliothèque nationale de France, département Philosophie, histoire, sciences de l'homme, 4-PB-411. Monaghan, F., French Travellers in the United States, 1765 - 1932, #567.