The very first thing that caught my
eye when I first looked at this map of North America was the amount of detail
and city names present along the coast. Not that this surprised me since that
was the first portion of America settled by the Europeans, but it was very
noticeable in this map. The amount of city names present on the map vastly
decreases as you look west of where Appalachia would be. The second thing that I noticed when
reading some of the names of the towns, cities, and states written on the map,
was that the names really show that the English felt entitled to ownership of
these lands. Places in the new world were named after prominent people in
English culture (Delaware for Lord De La Warr, Pennsylvania for William Penn,
and Virginia for the Virgin Queen for example). A quote from the Babb chapter
we read in class that does a good job of somewhat demonstrating this is as
follows: “America suggested a certain inevitability to English control of the
North American Continent”. The last
thing that I thought was incredibly interesting about the map was the title
shown in the bottom right corner. It reads “A new and
accurate map of the English empire in North America representing their rightful
claim as confirm'd by charters, & the formal surrender of their Indian
friends; likewise the encroachments of the French, with the several forts they
have unjustly erected therein by R. Bennett, engraver”. I found it slightly
humorous that they called the Indians their “friends” and confidently phrased
it to sound as if the Indians also had no problem surrendering and giving up
their land to the English population. This title helps to promote English
entitlement to the land as well as English superiority.
Zoe, on the maps I studied I noticed the detail along the costs as well. It was very interesting. Maybe it was because that is where they first landed. The titles of the places definitely did show how the English felt that they were entitled to the land. This is something that Valerie Babb discussed in her writing. That is very humorous that they called the Indians their friends but also would call them savages in other instances.
ReplyDeleteZoe your analysis of this map is very in depth and captures all of its elements perfectly! Not only was your observation on the settlements becoming less and less evident as one moves inward, but also your relation to Babb's quote is just awesome! It kinda seems like her quote was made for this analysis!! You present many interesting perspectives and it was fun to read!
ReplyDeleteZoe, I completely agree with your analysis of this map. I also think it is funny that they called the Native Americans friends considering they used them for what they wanted as well as abused them. I also thought it was interesting that the English fel that they had the right to claim everything they came across. If I was going into someone else's territory, I definitely wouldn't be claiming what wasn't mine.
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