1843 Mitchell Map of U.S.-Canada Border Region

An 1843 map of the U.S.-Canada border region, including portions the states and provinces of Maine, New Hampshire, Quebec, New Brunswick, and Nova Scotia, as it appeared one century prior. This map is a reissue of a portion of a 1755 map by John Mitchell which played an important role in settling the boundary between the American Republic and British North America (Canada) in the late 19th century. It was republished in the aftermath of the 'Aroostook War,' an Anglo-American diplomatic dispute between 1838 and 1842 over the same boundary, appearing in Albert Gallatin's A Memoir on the North-Eastern Boundary, in Connection with Mr. Jay's Map.

A Closer Look

Hand-colored outlines mark the borders of Quebec, Nova Scotia, and the New England colonies, largely consistent with the present-day borders. Another proposed border settlement noted as 'Mr. Oswald's Line' is traced in brown. Mountains, rivers, lakes, islands, forts, towns, and a coastal road are noted, as are territories (including the 'Province of Sagadahock') and Native American tribes.

This map reflects an early attempt to clearly demarcate the border between British and French colonies in North America, albeit on terms favorable to the British. It was originally produced in 1755 by John Mitchell, as Anglo-French tensions mounted across the world, culminating in the Seven Years' War, one theater of which was North America. Mitchell originally prepared the map a decade before, but delays, including his being captured by French ships on his return voyage to England, held publication. In any event, Mitchell's detailed cartographic work allowed the British to make a strong case for a border demarcation favorable to them vis-à-vis the French, though it would soon be a moot point as Quebec was transferred to the British at the end of the French and Indian War (1754 - 1763).

Mitchell's map was given renewed importance during the treaty negotiations at the end of the American Revolutionary War (1775 - 1783) and the subsequent Jay Treaty normalizing relations between the U.S. and Britain (it is referred to here as 'Mr. Jay's Map' after top U.S. diplomat John Jay). Two Anglo-American commissions in the late 18th and early 19th century failed to firmly demarcate the border, and the creation of the state of Maine in 1820 added new urgency to resolving the dispute.

The Aroostook War, 1838 - 1839

The disputed territory of 13,000 square miles were problematic primarily due to disagreements over logging rights. Tensions increased to the point that threats and violence broke out in 1838-1839. Still, this war (also known as the Pork and Beans War), between British colonies in Canada and American forces in the state of Maine, really should be called an international incident. Though there were injuries, no one was killed and there was never a significant engagement between the two sides. The treaty ending the 'war' (signed by U.S. Secretary of State Daniel Webster and British diplomat Alexander Baring, 1st Baron Ashburton, in August 1842) gave the United States over half of the disputed territory. The Webster-Ashburton Treaty finally settled the border between the United States and British Canada.

Publication History and Census

Though the original 1755 John Mitchell map was engraved, this is a lithographic print of a portion of the map undertaken by Endicott and Co. in New York. It appeared in A Memoir on the North-Eastern Boundary, in Connection with Mr. Jay's Map (OCLC 562170825), published by Albert Gallatin and the New York Historical Society. This edition of the map is held by roughly ten institutions in the United States and is scarce to the market.