1778 Zatta Map of the Northwest Territory: Michigan, Wisconsin, Illinois

Imperial frontier comprising a complex tapestry of Native American Nations.

This is Antonio Zatta's striking 1778 map of Lake Michigan, Wisconsin, and Illinois, issued at the height of the American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783). Although separately published, the sheet forms Plate IV of Zatta's 12-sheet Italian edition of John Mitchell's seminal map of eastern North America. The geography presented here corresponds to what would later become the Northwest Territory ('Old Northwest'), formally organized under the Northwest Ordinance of 1787. In 1778, however, this was still a volatile frontier world - its political future unsettled and its landscape shaped not by American institutions but by a dense and dynamic tapestry of Native nations, whose alliances, rivalries, and diplomacy defined the region on the eve of U.S. expansion.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces from St. Anthony's Falls on the Mississippi (Minneapolis, Minnesota) to Lake Superior, and from the Straits of Mackinac to Peoria Lake (Peoria, Illinois) on the Illinois River. The map names the Chicago Portage between Lake Michigan and the Illinois River (Fiume e Porto Chicagou). The map identifies and, in some cases, annotates the locations of known American Indian nations and settlements, among them the Pickawillani on the Great Miami River. Other American Indian nations include the Kickapoo, Miami, Mascouten, Sauk, and Iroquois, or Six Nations.

Historical Context

When Zatta issued this map, this region represented a fluid borderland where sovereignty was contested more by Native nations (especially the Shawnee, Miami, Delaware/Lenape, and Illinois peoples, alongside the western Iroquois) than European or colonial powers. Although nominally claimed by Virginia, Pennsylvania, New York, Quebec, and the British Crown, the outbreak of the American Revolution shifted the struggle from speculative land policy to wartime diplomacy and raiding. Britain, operating through the Detroit-Niagara axis, relied on native alliances to pin the rebellious colonies east of the Appalachians, while Virginia's western elites - most famously George Rogers Clark - sought to crack British control by seizing Kaskaskia, Cahokia, and Vincennes. Inland villages and trading communities experienced displacement, factionalization, and strategic realignment, as leaders weighed British promises of frontier restraint against American settler ambition. Far from being an open wilderness awaiting American expansion, the Old Northwest in these years was a densely networked indigenous geopolitical space, its future as U.S. territory still uncertain.

Publication History and Census

This map was published separately in Zatta's 1779-84 Atlante Novissimo, but can also be considered component to the 12-map Zatta Italian edition of John Mitchell's map of North America, considered the most comprehensive Colonial Era map of eastern North America. Both the Zatta and the Mitchell are roughly on the same scale, though the Zatta has considerably more annotations and additional insets (Bermuda, Jamaica). Well represented institutionally, but scarce to the market as a separate map.

Cartographers

Antonio Zatta (1722 - February 16, 1804) was a Venetian printer and publisher whose illustrated books and atlases made him a leading figure in late 18th-century Italian publishing. Born in Venice into a printing family active since 1656, he attempted to relocate to Rovereto in 1752, but Venetian authorities blocked the move. The merchant Amedeo Svajer financed his early ventures. His connections with the Jesuits, including publications defending the order under false imprints (1760 - 1761), attracted controversy, although these ties weakened during the 1760s. Geography became a major undertaking: he published Anton Friedrich Büsching's Nuova geografia in 34 volumes (1773 - 1782), followed by the four-volume Atlante novissimo, illustrato ed accresciuto (1779 - 1785), comprising approximately 240 maps. Portions appeared separately, notably Le colonie unite dell'America settentr.le, an Italian adaptation of John Mitchell's 1755 map. His geographical publications also included Cook's voyages (1794 - 1795) and the map-illustrated political periodical Prospetto degli affari attuali dell'Europa (1788 - 1801). Beyond cartography, he published literature, medicine, and Buffon's natural history (1782 - 1791), cultivating collaborations with leading Venetian illustrators and engravers. His sons Giacomo and Giovanni joined the business in 1783; the printing house closed shortly after his death.   Further Details...

John Mitchell (April 13, 1711 – February 29, 1768) was and British-American mapmaker of great significance. He is known for one and only one map, the 'Mitchell Map', considered the most important map in 18th century American history. Mitchell was born in Lancaster County, Virginia, the son of a prosperous planter and merchant. Like many of his social peers, he was educated in Europe, at Scotland at Edinburgh University, where he studied medicine. Mitchell practiced medicine in Virginia for a short time prior to the French and Indian War. He was elected to the original American Philosophical Society in 1744. In 1745 Mitchell argued that a series of epidemics occurring in Virginia were due to unsanitary troop ships from Britain - at the time a revolutionary idea. He relocated to London in 1746 - presumably for the agreeable climate. Mitchell never practiced medicine in London, but was known to be an avid botanist, and was considered an exotic plant expert in London society circles. He was elected as a fellow of the Royal Society in November 1748, his candidature citation describing him as

A Gentleman of great merit and Learning, who Some time Since communicated to the Royal Society a very curious dissertation concerning the Colour of the skin in Negroes, and who from his long residence in Virginea, and from his great application to the Study of Natural history, especially Botany, is very well acquainted with the vegetable productions of North America, being desirous of being admitted a fellow of the Royal Society, is recommended by us from our personal knowledge of him as highly deserving the Honour he desires, as we believe he will be (if chosen) a usefull and valuable member of our Body.

As an educated American adopted into British high society, Mitchell became the de facto expert on all matters North American. In 1749, during a time of ever-increasing political tensions between British and French interests in America, Lord Halifax contracted Mitchell to produce a large and detailed map of British and French dominions in America. While embracing the most advanced geographical data, Mitchell also advocated pro-British interpretation of political boundaries. The resulting map was thus geographically unimpeachable and reframed the cartographic perspective from French to British terms. The map proved significant and was used in most subsequent treaties. Michell issued 3 editions in his lifetime. He died in London in 1768.   Further Details...

Source

Zatta, A., Atlante novissimo, illustrato ed accresciuto sulle osservazioni, e scoperte fatte dai piu celebri e piu recenti geografi, (Venice: Presso Antonio Zatta) 1779 - 1784.    

Condition

Excellent. Original centerfold.

References

Rumsey 5007.006. Sellers, John R. and Van Ee, Patricia, Maps and Charts of North America, #163. Shirley, R., Maps in the Atlases of the British Library, T.ZAT-1a, Vol. 4 #28.