Carte Du Mexique Et Des Etats Unis d’Amerique, Partie Meridionale.

Description

This 1783 map by the Parisian publisher Jean-André Dezauche is among the earliest French maps to name the United States of America directly in its title: Carte du Mexique et des États Unis d’Amérique, Partie Méridionale. It depicts Mexico, the southern United States, Central America, and the Caribbean basin, presenting the entire Gulf of Mexico world as a single geographic and commercial system. The map reflects European interest in the rapidly changing political and economic landscape of North America following the American Revolution.

The map extends from the Great Lakes and the lower Mississippi Valley southward through New Spain (Mexico) and Central America, and eastward across the Caribbean islands, while the Pacific coast of Mexico forms the western boundary of the composition. The Gulf of Mexico occupies the center of the sheet, emphasizing its importance as the principal maritime corridor linking the Spanish, French, British, and newly independent American spheres.

The map is embellished with an ornate baroque cartouche framing the title, supported by allegorical figures representing the riches and exoticism of the Americas. The engraving is crisp and finely detailed, typical of the high standards of late-18th-century Parisian mapmaking.

The United States and the Mississippi Valley

Dezauche’s map captures North America during a period of geopolitical transition. The United States appears largely confined to the eastern seaboard, reflecting the young republic’s early boundaries, while the vast interior west of the Mississippi remains associated with Spanish Louisiana and New Spain. The Mississippi River system dominates the continental interior, highlighting the river’s role as the principal commercial artery linking the interior of the continent to the Gulf.

Spanish colonial administrative divisions are clearly delineated throughout Mexico and Central America, with provinces such as Nueva Vizcaya, Nueva Galicia, and Sonora labeled across the northern frontier of New Spain. Native groups and frontier regions are noted in the northern territories, reflecting the incomplete European understanding of the interior borderlands.

The Great Lakes, the Mississippi Valley, and the southeastern United States appear with considerable detail, illustrating the region’s strategic importance in post-Revolutionary diplomacy and trade.

East and West Florida

One particularly notable feature is the division of Florida into East Florida and West Florida, reflecting the administrative structure established under British rule after the Treaty of Paris (1763).

• East Florida is shown with St. Augustine as its principal settlement.

• West Florida extends along the northern Gulf Coast with Pensacola as its administrative center.

Although Spain regained both colonies in 1783, the older colonial division persisted in geographic representations well into the late 18th century and continued to influence regional political geography in the Gulf Coast region.

The Caribbean and the Atlantic World

The Caribbean islands are depicted with particular care, each colony distinguished by colored boundaries identifying the competing imperial powers that controlled the region. A key at the bottom identifies the colonial authorities—British, Spanish, French, and Danish possessions—reflecting the intense geopolitical rivalry that defined the Caribbean during the late 18th century.

Major islands, including Cuba, Hispaniola, Jamaica, and Puerto Rico, are carefully rendered, while smaller island groups such as the Bahamas and the Lesser Antilles are clearly labeled. The region’s importance as a nexus of Atlantic trade, naval power, and colonial wealth is evident in the map’s detailed coastal geography and maritime orientation.