1798 Tardieu Map of Spanish Florida and Georgia

Spanish Florida: a volatile frontier of Native nations, runaway slaves, and imperial rivalry.

This is Pierre François Antoine Tardieu's 1798 map of Spanish Florida and Georgia. With coverage from Louisiana to the Atlantic Ocean and from South Carolina to the Gulf of Mexico, this map was issued during the second era of Spanish rule in Florida. At this time, Florida became a haven for runaway slaves and a base of operations for Native American attacks on the United States. The map is printed on striking French Revolutionary period blue-tinted paper.

A Closer Look

While detail may seem sparse, this map is among the best available at the time, identifying the major centers of St. Augustine (St. Augustin), Pensacola, New Orleans (Nouvelle Orleans), Charleston (Charles Town), Camden, Savannah, and Augusta. Tampa Bay (Baie du St. Esprit) is notably outsized, reaching inland nearly as far as Lake Okeechobee. Native American nations dominate what today is Western Georgia and Alabama, including the Creeks (Criks), Choctaws (Chactaws), and Chickasaws (Chicachas). Several forts are labeled, including Ninety-Six, the site of a major Revolutionary War battle, and Mobile Fort, the future site of Mobile, Alabama. Okefenokee Swamp (Onoquaphanoga Marais) is illustrated.

Historical Context

After the Seven Years' War (1756 - 1763), Spain ceded Florida to Great Britain in exchange for Havana, which the British had captured. Once Britain gained control of Florida, most Spanish settlers fled to Havana, paving the way for a swift British takeover. Florida changed hands again when Spain, which indirectly participated in the American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783) as an ally of France, acquired the territory through the 1783 Treaty of Paris. In a reversal of the situation in 1763, the majority of British residents left Florida soon after. A small Spanish community returned to reclaim Florida, but the region fell into near chaos, becoming a refuge for escaped slaves and various American Indian groups.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Pierre François Antoine Tardieu with lettering by P. J. Valet. Cartographic literature has had difficulty assigning a definitive date to this piece, with records placing it between 1780 and 1807. However, it is included in Edme Mentelle and Pierre-Grégoire Chanlaire's Atlas Universel, which dates it definitively to 1798.

Cartographers

Pierre Antoine-François Tardieu (February 17, 1757 - January 14, 1822), also known as Tardieu de l'Estrapade, for his address at Place de L'Estrapade, was a French geographical engraver and publisher active in Paris during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. A member of the large and prolific Tardieu family, which, for over 200 years, produced multiple skilled and active engravers. A disciple of his uncle Pierre-François Tardieu, in his youth Antoine-Francois would sign his works Pierre-François (or P.F. Tardieu; 1711 - 1771) , but later in his career began using his own name or (P.A.F. Tardieu). His two sons, Pierre-Antoine Tardieu and Ambroise Tardieu (1788 - 1841), both became noted geographical engravers in the own right.   Further Details...

Edme Mentelle (October 11, 1730 - April 28, 1816) was a French geographer and historian active in Paris during the late 18th century. Mentelle was born in Paris in 1730. He studied under the historian Jean-Baptiste Louis Crevier at the College of Beauvais before accepting a position as professor of Geology and History at the Ecole Militaire where, incidentally, he tutoring the young Napoleon Bonaparte. He remained in this position until the institution was abolished in 1792. Mentelle later worked as a private tutor and then as a professor of Geography at the Ecole Normale. From 1795 he was a member of the Institut National des Sciences et des Arts, which he helped to found. Mentelle published a number of importantly geographical works including the 1778 Geographie Comparee, the 1779 Atlas Universel, and the 1801 Cours Complet de Cosmographie, de Chronologie, de Geographie et d'Histoire. He is known to have worked with Conrad Malte-Brun, Ambrose Tardieu, Peter Simon Pallas, and other important cartographic figures of his period. Edme Mentelle is frequently erroneously confused with Francois Simon Mentelle, another French Geographer who worked with Cassini on his historic survey of France.   Further Details...

Pierre-Gilles Chanlaire (June 21, 1758 - March 8, 1817), also known as Pierre Grégoire Chanlaire, was a French geographer who worked for the Bureau of Topography and Land Registry. He married Angélique-Émilie Vermeil on April 26, 1787 with whom he had two children.   Further Details...

Condition

Excellent.

References

John Carter Brown Library C-7602-000. Harvard MAP-LC G3930 1807 .T3. OCLC 76806573.