1842 Greenleaf Map of the Republic of Texas w/Grants

This is Jeremiah Greenleaf's 1842 map of the Republic of Texas. This highly sought-after map is one of the best depictions of the Republic produced during its brief existence. It is notable for incorporating both early counties and Empresario land grants.

A Closer Look

Rivers and topography are elegantly engraved, trails and forts well detailed, and the Republic's counties presented with stippled borders and original wash color. Austin - founded in 1839 - is the capital, with the old capital of San Felipe de Austin also identified. Houston, Galveston, Victoria, Richmond, and San Antonio are identified. Unsurprisingly, the eastern portion of the Republic of Texas is well-detailed. The west is virtually devoid of settlement, underscoring 'the progress of settlement and the nearly total lack of information in the west, a region that was to remain primarily the domain of the Comanche and the coyote for another thirty years' (Martin and Martin). Various American Indian tribes are located throughout. The map also includes parts of Arkansas, Louisiana, Mexico, and the southern part of the Indian Territory. The western borders of the Republic are deliberately ambiguous, especially with regard to Mexico.

Republic of Texas

The Republic of Texas was a short-lived nation established in March of 1836 when it ceded from Mexico. Following the independence of Mexico from Spain, the American Stephen Fuller Austin led a group of 300 Empresarios to settle near Austin, where they received a grant from the Mexican government. As more Americans moved to Texas, resentment and strife began to build between the American settlers and Mexican authorities. This and other factors ultimately led to the Texan Revolution in 1835 and the Declaration of Texan Independence in 1836. Texas remained an independent republic until it joined the United States in 1846, 10 years later.

The Republic of Texas Borders

The borders of the Republic of Texas were in dispute from the earliest days of the Texan Revolution. The Republic-claimed borders followed the Treaties of Velasco between the newly created Texas Republic and Mexican military officer and statesman Antonio López de Santa Anna. The treaties established an eastern boundary at the Sabine River following the 1819 Adams-Onís Treaty between the United States and Spain, which settled the eastern boundary of Spanish Texas and the western boundary of the Missouri Territory. The Republic's southern and western boundary with Mexico was more nuanced. Texas claimed the Rio Gzrande del Norte as its western and southernmost border, while Mexico argued for a boundary further east at the Nueces River. When Texas was annexed into the United States, the agreement followed the Republic-claimed boundary, thus absorbing Mexican-claimed territory as far west as Santa Fe. This escalated already existing tensions between the United States, the former Republic of Texas, and Mexico, ultimately triggering the Mexican-American War (1846 - 1848).

Publication History and Census

Within 1842, we note examples with slightly different coloring patterns, but it is unclear if this is meaningful, as there is no change to the printed map. This map is rare. We find only three examples of the separate 1842 map in OCLC: Yale, Texas Tech, and the Clements. In addition, OCLC notes only two instances of the 1842 New Universal Atlas. We have seen this map in dealer price records only four times since 1991.