Nicholas Sanson, Amerique Septentrionale, Paris, 1650, Map #93684, Map Collection, Archives and Records Program, Texas General Land Office, Austin, TX.

Amerique Septentrionale [North America], 1650

This map of North America was drawn by Nicolas Sanson, who founded the scientific school of cartography, also known as the “French School.”

Detail on the most prominent feature on the map, the Isle of California, detached from the mainland.

Detail showing the little that was known of the area that would become Texas.

Sanson also served as the royal geographer to French King Louis XIII, taught geography to Louis XIV, and trained the renowned mapmaker Claude de l’Isle (father of mapmaker Guillaume de l’Isle).

Most notable to modern viewers is California’s depiction as an island (Californie Isle), an error first depicted as early as 1622 and one that appeared as late as 1865 on a Japanese map. Also notable is the lack of information on western Canada, which Sanson chose to leave blank; earlier mapmakers generally filled the empty space with embellishments.

Given its creation date, the map contains little information on Texas, as evidenced by the mountains that cut across from west to east.

Additionally, Sanson represented the Mississippi River system emptying into what appears to be Galveston Bay (Bahía de Espíritu Santo).

Detail of title block

This map was so influential that it became the basis for many subsequent maps of North America over the next forty years.

A reproduction of this map can be purchased on the GLO website.