"Carte de l'Amerique Septentrionale…", Barbie du Bocage, Jean-Guillaume

Subject: North America, Texas
Period: 1843 (dated)
Publication: Geographie Universelle
Color: Hand Color
Size: 12.2 x 9.1

The United States and Great Britain established in 1818 joint claim over the Oregon Territory - the region north of Spanish controlled Upper California up to the southern boundary of Russia's Alaska Territory at North latitude 54°40'. By the late 1830's this arrangement was beginning to fall apart.

In the 1840's the expansionist Democrats, including their 1844 presidential candidate, James Polk, claimed the entire region for the United States. Their expansionist desires were expressed by Polk's famous campaign slogan, "Fifty-four Forty or Fight!" The slogan also became a rally cry for Americans desiring to settle the territory. Following Polk's election, the dispute was resolved by the 1846 Treaty of Oregon, which struck a compromise that fixed the U.S./Canadian boundary at 49º North.

This decorative map shows Mexico in control of the Southwest and California. The northwest boundary of the United States extends well into Canada as part of the dispute between England and the U.S. The Independent Republic of Texas is clearly shown with Bejar and Austin located. Indian Territory is here called Distict d'Ozark. Alaska is Amerique Russe. The map is decorated by a picture-frame style border and fancy scroll titling. Engraved by Charles Smith, this edition is revised to 1846.
Condition: A
Attractive contemporary outline color with a couple of unobtrusive spots in the image.