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1737 Hennepin Map of the Course of the Mississippi - North America
Mississipi-hennepin-1737$1,250.00
Title
Le Cours de Fleuve Missisipi, Selon les Relations les plus modernes.
1737 (dated) 15.5 x 19 in (39.37 x 48.26 cm) 1 : 11500000
1737 (dated) 15.5 x 19 in (39.37 x 48.26 cm) 1 : 11500000
Description
This is an interesting 1737 Dutch issue of Louis Hennepin's map of 1697, prepared by J. F. Bernard. It is based on the second of Hennepin's three maps, considered the map most influential in perpetrating Hennepin's fraud regarding the course of the Mississippi. The mapping of the Mississippi here, which meets the Gulf of Mexico far west of its actual location, was instrumental in fostering nearly 50 years of cartographic misrepresentation.
Remarkably, this map is not a mere slavish copy of the 1697 map. In fact, despite the fact that it follows the earlier map in its false delineation of the Mississippi River's course, it also names and situates New Orleans, founded in 1718.
Hennepin attempted to explore southwards towards the mouth of the Mississippi but, in his own words, 'the nations did not give us the time to navigate up and down this river'. Instead, he traveled northward past St. Anthony Falls and modern-day Minneapolis to Lac des Issatis (Leech Lake), a source of the Mississippi. From here Hennepin attempted a return to Fort Crevecoeur, but was captured by a band of wandering Sioux who took him to the Mille Lacs region of Minnesota, near Lake Superior. Hennepin remained in Sioux custody until the adventurer Daneil Greysolon Delhut, who had negotiated a peace treaty with the Sioux, ransomed him.
Hennepin and La Salle never met again. La Salle went on to explore the Mississippi, named Louisiana, claimed it for France, and established a short-lived colony near Matagorda Bay, Texas. Hennepin, who had had enough adventure, returned to France where he published an enormously popular book, Description de la Louisiane. Ten years later La Salle was assassinated in modern-day Texas by Pierre Duhaut.
Meanwhile, Hennepin, perhaps seeing an opportunity for self-aggrandizement, fled to England where he published another book, Nouvelle Decouverte d'un tres grand Pays Situe dans L'Amerique, dedicated to William III of England. This book reaffirmed, with some controversy, Hennepin's dubious contribution to the exploration of North America. The false claims in Decouverte include, among other absurdities, the spurious assertion that Hennepin explored the entire length of the Mississippi River, affirmed by a new map that shows the Mississippi meeting the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, near La Salle's former colony. Hennepin's second book also proved enormously popular and was influential in the mis-mapping of the Mississippi far westward of its actual location for the next 50 years. He later published a third, less important work that reasserted some of the content of the first two.
A Closer Look
The map extends from modern-day Texas, where we see the Riviere de la Magdelaine (possibly the Nueces or Rio Grande), as well as the Mexican 'Mines of Ste. Barbe' (significant as one of La Salle's primary objectives), eastward to meet the Atlantic; it reaches north to incorporate much of Hudson's Bay, and south to include all of Florida. A dotted line traces the declared path of Hennepin, according to his own reports. The Great Lakes are notably inflated, a feature common to all Hennepin maps, likely reflecting the outsized significance assigned to them in the European imagination of the period. The fictional Lake Apalache appears in western Carolina.Remarkably, this map is not a mere slavish copy of the 1697 map. In fact, despite the fact that it follows the earlier map in its false delineation of the Mississippi River's course, it also names and situates New Orleans, founded in 1718.
The Curious Case of Fra. Hennepin
In 1679 the French lord René-Robert Cavelier de La Salle set out from Fort Frontenac, on Lake Ontario, to explore the Great Lakes and eventually make his way to the Mississippi River. La Salle was of the belief that the Mississippi connected to other water routes that would eventually lead to the Pacific. His scribe and chronicler on this expedition was a Dutch Friar of the Franciscan Recollect order, Antoine Louis Hennepin. Hennepin, who had a passion for 'pure and severe virtue' and La Salle, who had a passion for 'moral weaknesses' never quite saw eye to eye. Nonetheless, the expedition sailed (and were the first to do so) through Lake Ontario, Lake Erie, and Lake Huron into Lake Michigan, then followed the St. Joseph River to what is today South Bend, Indiana. From here the expedition headed west overland to the Mississippi, near present-day Peoria, where they constructed Fort Crevecoeur. At this point the explorers parted ways with La Salle returning on foot to Frontenac to resupply and Hennepin continuing onward via the Illinois River to the Mississippi.Hennepin attempted to explore southwards towards the mouth of the Mississippi but, in his own words, 'the nations did not give us the time to navigate up and down this river'. Instead, he traveled northward past St. Anthony Falls and modern-day Minneapolis to Lac des Issatis (Leech Lake), a source of the Mississippi. From here Hennepin attempted a return to Fort Crevecoeur, but was captured by a band of wandering Sioux who took him to the Mille Lacs region of Minnesota, near Lake Superior. Hennepin remained in Sioux custody until the adventurer Daneil Greysolon Delhut, who had negotiated a peace treaty with the Sioux, ransomed him.
Hennepin and La Salle never met again. La Salle went on to explore the Mississippi, named Louisiana, claimed it for France, and established a short-lived colony near Matagorda Bay, Texas. Hennepin, who had had enough adventure, returned to France where he published an enormously popular book, Description de la Louisiane. Ten years later La Salle was assassinated in modern-day Texas by Pierre Duhaut.
Meanwhile, Hennepin, perhaps seeing an opportunity for self-aggrandizement, fled to England where he published another book, Nouvelle Decouverte d'un tres grand Pays Situe dans L'Amerique, dedicated to William III of England. This book reaffirmed, with some controversy, Hennepin's dubious contribution to the exploration of North America. The false claims in Decouverte include, among other absurdities, the spurious assertion that Hennepin explored the entire length of the Mississippi River, affirmed by a new map that shows the Mississippi meeting the Gulf of Mexico in Texas, near La Salle's former colony. Hennepin's second book also proved enormously popular and was influential in the mis-mapping of the Mississippi far westward of its actual location for the next 50 years. He later published a third, less important work that reasserted some of the content of the first two.
Publication History and Census
This map was engraved and published by Jean-Frédéric Bernard in 1737 for his Recueil de Voyages au Nord. It is based on Louis de Hennepin's 1697 map Carte d'un tres grand Pais Nouvellement decouvert dans L'Amerique Septentrionale entre le Nouveau Mexique et la Mer Glaciale avec le Cours du Grand Fleuve Meschasipi, but exhibits several significant updates and revisions. It is scarce, rarely appearing on the market.CartographerS
Antoine Louis Hennepin (May 12, 1626 - December 5, 1704) was a Catholic priest and missionary of the Franciscan Recollect order. Born in 1626 in Ath in the Spanish Netherlands, the son of a butcher. He joined the Franciscan covenant of Béthune (Pas-de-Calais) at 17, where he studied under Father Gabriel de la Ribourde. Latter he transferred to the convent of Maontargis (Loriet), where he completed his religious studies under Father Paul Huet. He entered the priesthood immediacy after. He is best known as an explorer of the interior of North America. After entering the Catholic Church he was assigned to the coast of France, where he remained until 1675. The stories he heard from sailors returning from North America intrigued him to such degree that he himself made the journey across the Atlantic. Hennepin arrived in New France as a Recollect Missionary and was selected as the scribe and chronicler for Robert Cavelier La Salle's 1678 expedition from Fort Frontenac to the Great Lakes. Hennepin, who had a passion for 'pure and severe virtue' and La Salle, who had a passion for 'moral weaknesses' never quite saw eye to eye. Nonetheless, in 1680 La Salle sent Hennepin, along with two woodsmen, to search out the source of the Mississippi. Hennepin travelled down the Illinois River as far as the Mississippi, where he passed present-day Minneapolis. Among the many firsts on this journey was the discovery and naming of St. Anthony Falls, the only cataract on the Mississippi. Hennepin then traveled northwards to Lac des Issatis, or Leach Lake, which he asserted was the source of the Father of Rivers, a term he also claims (falsely) to have coined. Though Leach Lake is a source of the Mississippi it is not generally considered to be the source. On his return journey Hennepin was taken prisoner by a wandering band of Sioux Indians who took him into the Mille Lacs region of Minnesota. Hennepin remained in Sioux custody until September of 1680 when the adventurer Daneil Greysolon Delhut, who had negotiated a peace treaty with the Sioux, ransomed him. In 1681, Hennepin began writing his first book, Description de la Louisiane, which he dedicated to Louis XIV of France, and which described the achievements of the La Salle Expedition. Hennepin's book proved to be an enormous success that significantly impact on the cartographic history of America. It is also contains the first European image of Niagara Falls. Ten years later La Salle was assassinated in modern day Texas by Pierre Duhaut. Meanwhile, Hennepin, perhaps seeing an opportunity for self-aggrandizement, fled to England where he published another book, Nouvelle Decouverte d'un tres grand Pays Situe dans L'Amerique, dedicated to William III of England. This book reaffirmed, with some controversy, Hennepin's own contribution to the discovery of North America. The false claims in Decouverte include, among other absurdities, spurious assertion that Hennepin explored the entire length of the Mississippi River. Like the first, Hennepin's second book also proved enormously popular and was influential in the mis-mapping of the Mississippi far westward of its actual location for the next 50 years. Decouverte also earned Hennepin the enmity of the French Crown and Louis XIV ordered that he be arrested if he ever attempted to return to New France. He later published a third, less important work that reasserted some of the content of the first two. Louis Hennepin died in Rome in 1705. More by this mapmaker...
Jean-Frédéric Bernard (1683 - June 27, 1744) was a French Huguenot bookseller, historian, theologist, and publisher active in Amsterdam in the first half of the 18th century. Bernard was likely from Velaux, Provence, France. In 1685, the Bernard family was expelled from France as heretics due to religious law put into place under Louis IV. The family relocated to Amsterdam, where his father became a pastor. Jean-Frédéric briefly moved to Geneva, where he established himself as bookseller, but by 1705, was back in Amsterdam with a new bookshop. His most significant work is the multi-volume Recueil de voyages au Nord, published between 1715 and 1738, significant for marking the beginning of scientific criticism in matters of geographical facts. His theological writings bordered on heretical, one of his declarations being that 'in general all religions were similar, for they had the same principles and pursued the same objectives'. Nonetheless, he was a smart businessman and highly successful. Amsterdam tax records from 1742 placed him near the top of the Dutch publishing hierarchy. After his 1844 death, his Swiss son-in-law, Marc Michel Rey (1720 - 1780) took over the bookselling and publishing business. Learn More...
Source
Bernard, J. F., Recueil de Voyages au Nord, (Amsterdam: Chez J. F. Bernard) 1737.
Condition
Very good. Right margin extended.
References
Library of Congress, G3300 1737 .B4.