1943 Jylbert Map of St. Pierre and Miquelon, France

This is a 1943 Jylbert pictorial map of St. Pierre and Miquelon. This map was part of a series of 20 maps of the French Empire drawn by Jylbert during the Nazi occupation of France to educate French schoolchildren on the wonders of the Empire and foster national pride.

A Closer Look

Coverage details the small 8-island archipelago. St. Pierre and Miquelon's main industry is fishing, as illustrated by the fishermen on Saint Pierre and the portrait along the right border. Bays, points, capes, and other coastal features are labeled, and numerous boats appear in the water around the islands.

Saint Pierre and Miquelon

Saint Pierre and Miquelon was claimed for France by Jacques Cartier in 1536. Jean Talon, the Intendant of New France, annexed the islands in 1670 after discovering a community of a dozen French fishermen. Over the 18th and 19th centuries, the islands changed hands between the British and the French several times due to the War of Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714), French and Indian War (1754 - 1763), American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783), and Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815), with France reclaiming the islands in 1815. The French resettled the islands in 1816, and the archipelago has been inhabited ever since. During World War II, Charles de Gaulle's Free French Forces seized the islands after the local administrator had pledged to Vichy France. Local referendums on Free France's seizure of the islands showed that the takeover was endorsed by over 98% of the population. Saint Pierre and Miquelon became a French Overseas Territory in 1946, and when given a choice in 1958, it chose to remain an Overseas Territory.

Publication History and Census

This map was created by Jylbert and published by 'BD' in France in 1943. This piece does not appear in OCLC, but an example is part of the David Rumsey Map Collection. We have found only a couple of instances when it appeared on the private market.