Book ID: CBB572147025

Revolution: Mapping the Road to American Independence 1755-1783 (2015)

unapi

The spectacular legacy and importance of early American cartographers. Historians of the Revolutionary War in America have been fortunate in their resources: few wars in history have such a rich literary and cartographic heritage. The high skills of the surveyors, artists, and engravers who delineated the topography and fields of battle allow us to observe the unfolding of events that ultimately defined the United States. When warfare erupted between Britain and her colonists in 1775, maps provided graphic news about military matters. A number of the best examples are reproduced here, including some from the personal collections of King George III, the Duke of Northumberland, and the Marquis de Lafayette. Other maps from institutional and private collections are being published for the first time. In all, sixty significant and beautiful cartographic works from 1755 to 1783 illustrate this intriguing era. Most books about the Revolution begin with Lexington and Concord and progress to the British surrender at Yorktown, but in this rich collection the authors lay the groundwork for the war by also taking into account key events of the antecedent conflict. The seeds of revolution were planted during the French and Indian War (1755-1763), and it was then that a good number of the participants, both British and rebel, cut their teeth. George Washington took his first command during this war, alongside the future British commanding General Thomas Gage. At the Treaty of Paris, the French and Indian War ended, and King George III gained clear title to more territory than had ever been exchanged in any other war before or since. The British military employed its best-trained artists and engineers to map the richest prize in its Empire. They would need those maps for the fratricidal war that would begin twelve years later. Their maps and many others make up the contents of this fascinating and beautiful book. 60 maps.

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Reviewed By

Review Patricia Molen van Ee (2016) Review of "Revolution: Mapping the Road to American Independence 1755-1783". Imago Mundi: A Review of Early Cartography (pp. 253-254). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB572147025/

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Authors & Contributors
Marshall, Tabitha
Adelman, Joseph M.
Swedberg, Sarah L.
Briant, Pierre
Kemp, Karen
Gliserman, Nicholas
Concepts
Geography
Surveying
Great Britain, colonies
Science and politics
Medicine and the military; medicine in war
Cartography
Time Periods
18th century
19th century
Ancient
17th century
Places
United States
North America
Atlantic world
Hellenistic world
Atlantic Ocean
Carthage
Institutions
United States. Department of the Treasury
Great Britain. Army
Royal Society of London
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