1841 Aimé Roger Map of Uruguay: First Detailed Map of the Republic

Aimé Roger (fl. 1836-1868) was a French diplomat active in South America during the post-independence struggle for dominance in the La Plata region. Virtually nothing is known about him: there is no convincing record of his birth or death, and no record at all of his education or training. He first appears in the historical record as an attaché in the French consulate in Buenos Aires. In 1736 he was to be reassigned to a new consulate in Albania, but the political ferment in La Plata resulted in France's decision to keep him in place as vice-consul. He produced a report on the Paraguayan dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia. Later that year, the death of his superior led to Roger temporarily being made head of the French legation. France's policies were at the time expansionist, and in the South American theater this led France to support regimes friendly to foreign trade. In 1837, France saw the coalition of Peru and Bolivia as favorable to French interests; the Argentine Confederation were protectionist, and aligned against Peru and Bolivia. Roger was sent in 1838 to deliver an ultimatum to Argentina in advance of a French blockade of the Rio de la Plata, insisting on exemption of French subjects from military service and ensure 'most favored nation' treatment for France. Roger also maneuvered to develop relations with Uruguay's Colorado party, whose domestic foes, the Blancos, were supported by Argentina. The notion was to support the blockade with an Uruguayan alliance, relieving France of the necessity of landing troops (a move that would have run afoul of relations with the British). Neither the blockade nor Roger's other truculent moves were successful, and ultimately the French would withdraw from the conflict. Roger was subsequently appointed consul in New Orleans, where he appears to have caused little more trouble than marrying an American, with whom he would have a child. He is understood to have remained in New Orleans twenty years before returning to France. More by this mapmaker...

John Cary (1754 - 1835) was a London based cartographer active in the early part of the 19th century. Ronald Vere Tooley, the prominent English map historian, writes of Cary, "As an engraver he was elegant and exact with fine clear lettering and great delicacy of touch." Cary began his work as an engraver, cartographer, and globe maker in 1776 with his New and Correct English Atlas. This important atlas represented a new phase in cartography where accuracy and detail rose in prominence over the decorative embellishments of the 18th century. This change was indicative of the times when travel and commerce were expanding globally as never before. Cary's mastery of both engraving and cartography resulted in a series of seminal works that redefined mapmaking in the early 19th century. His stupendous Cary's New Universal Atlas, published in 1808, set the standard for all cartographers who followed. Cary reissued this seminal atlas in 1811, 1819, 1824, 1828, 1833, 1836 and 1844. Cary also did considerable work on the English Ordinance Survey prior to 1805. His cartographic work particularly inspired the Edinburgh school of cartography as represented by John Pinkerton and John Thomson. In America, Cary's work was used as the basis for Tanner's important New American Atlas. Cary's last published atlas appeared posthumously in 1844, however, by 1850 Cary's work was being carried on by his sons and other well-known cartographers including James Wyld, John Tallis & Company, and Crutchley. Learn More...

Azara, Félix de (May 18, 1742 - October 20, 1821) was a Spanish military officer, naturalist, and engineer. He joined the Army, and received training as an engineer in a Spanish military academy. His thirteen year career in the Army would see him promoted to Brigadier General. He spent twenty years in the Rio de la Plata region of South America as a delegate under the treaty of San Ildefonso, during which period he undertook to create an accurate map of the region. On the surveys, he also recorded the fauna the region, in particular cataloguing nearly four hundred species of bird. On his return to Europe in 1801 he wrote and published in Paris his Voyage dans l'Amerique meridionale depuis 1781 jusqu'en 1801 (1809) which contained his observations on the region's geography, natural features, and indigenous groups. His work was praised for thoroughness and accuracy, and was well regarded by Darwin. He died of pneumonia on October 20, 1821. Learn More...