Canada 150
Then and Now
A Topographical History of Canada
Map No. 1 – The Juan De La Cosa Map of the World
One of the earliest known maps to exhibit the configuration of Canada’s east coast, this intricately illustrated and coloured chart of the world was drawn by Juan de la Cosa, renowned navigator and cartographer who was a ship’s captain with Columbus on his first voyage to America.
The map’s compass rose is a classical depiction of the Virgin Mary, Jesus and Joseph, and true to the time, all lines emanate from their position. Despite these haphazard lines from the various compasses drawn, the tropics of Cancer and Capricorn are included, which show an understanding of the importance of latitudinal lines as well was compass degrees in navigation.
It is interesting to note how filled in the continent of Africa and the islands of the tropics appear to be. It seems that they were much more colonized by this point in time that either Northern or Southern America, which remain shaded in masses with little to no markings. The shape of Canada’s east cost is essentially obsolete; there is no St. Lawrence River or island of Newfoundland with which the viewer may orient themself. However, various flags have been placed along the eastern shoreline, perhaps marking European landings? If so, these early explorers clearly didn’t much value North America, as the idea of the Northwest Passage had not been circulated, nor had the endless mountains of gold been ‘revealed’.
This map’s significance lies more in its date than any geographical advances, as no one beyond Columbus had yet bothered to try and sail in this direction. Thus, it was happy coincidence that the land of North America was ‘discovered’, as through Columbus’ bogus mathematical calculations to reach Asia, an entire ‘new’ continent was found and documented for the first time. The map marks the first definite point in Western history that Canada was observed, and despite only showing one facet of Canada’s identity, still remains noteworthy.
Sebastian Munster drew this map in 1532, to be included in that year’s edition of Novus Orbis, or the New World. The rather deformed map was a popular edition of the 16th century, having also been printed in Munster’s editions of Ptolemy’s Cosmographia. The German words Die Nüw Welt, which appear in large text over South America, also translate to The New World.
The map itself is a fairly accurate depiction, given that it was printed less than a hundred years after the Spanish first journeyed across the Atlantic Ocean. South America is the most recognizable continent by shape, and Mexico has been squished to make way for a larger islet of water into what is now Columbia and Ecuador. As for Canada, it is labelled with the name Francisca and almost divided in half by what appears to be the Hudson’s Bay. Perhaps the choice of name for North America is a dedication to Francisco Pizarro González, the Spanish Conquistador who led the expedition that eventually conquered the Inca? It is interesting to note that Florida (Terra florida, Spanish for flowery) has also been named on this map, having been so called in 1512 by Ponce de Leon after discovering on Easter or Palm Sunday.
The map is also quite barren compared to others in the collection; it spares no time for unnecessary drawings (barring that of the incredibly disproportionate ship on the left side) and shows just the slightest understanding of the geography of North America. Mountains are depicted in the West (presumably the Rockies) and large forests through the Prairies and into Quebec. However, the island of Newfoundland is clearly drawn and labelled with the name Corteratia, presumably after the Spanish Conquistador Hernán Cortés, who conquered the Aztec Empire. As for the great St. Lawrence River, clearly no one had yet explored its great waters, as all that is shown is a diminutive little river. Furthermore, the North end of Canada is left completely open, as explorers during this time were still seeking that illusive North West Passage – or an easy trade route to India and Asia.
The significance of this lap lies in the names the creator chose to include; by naming large portions of land after Spanish Conquistadors instead of their traditional Aboriginal names, Munster reveals the extremely racist, supremacist and imperialist mindset that was all to common of his time. To honour the decimation of so many vibrant cultures seems so ignorant and offensive to the modern viewer, and yet at the time the book was in wide publication and extremely popular for its depictions of a world entirely unknown to the greater European population. The map and the time it originates from clearly hold no respect for aboriginal populations, labeling them as uncivilized cannibals and stands as a visual reminder of the brutal imperialist conquests that lead to the development of North and South America. Instead of encouraging learning and dialogue between the two cultures, the dominant Europeans chose to eradicate them, and the actions they took still see their affects hundreds of years later.
Map No. 2 – Munster’s Map of The Americas
Produced by Pierre Descelier on the instruction of the soon-to-be King Henry II of France, this map documents the voyages of Jacques Cartier during the years from 1534 to 1543. Interestingly, this map was drawn with South at the top, and so shows an inverted image of Canada’s east coast. Descelier managed to produce one of the earliest depictions of the Gulf of St. Lawrence, with a fairly accurate representation of the island of Newfoundland. Also noteworthy in the map is the inclusion of Le Sagnay people of Quebec, along with many other depictions of aboriginal peoples of the land.
Furthermore, the map is decorated with many fanciful images of creatures ranging from a serpent monster in the top left corner to the extremely lean dogs and deer alongside bears. Descelier has also taken the liberty of drawing in some ‘modern’ horsemen and knights on the land with their swords and spears evident. Perhaps imagining some future where the two cultures co-existed on the land, Descelier definitely had an imperialist perspective when creating the map.
It is also interesting to note the title of Canada appears north of the Gulf, having been the name that Cartier mistranslated from the Aboriginal village of Stadacona. Within decades of this map being drawn, Canada would become the name of a colony in New France, and by the end of the colonial period (~1700) it would be used interchangeably with New France.
From an analytical perspective, this map appears to show an interesting shift in thought from its predecessor. Gone are the cruel depictions of cannibals and acknowledgements to murders, instead replaced with a more blended (albeit dominantly Eurocentric) naming system. Native populations are shown alongside clearly European knights and horseback riders, and many different aboriginal gathering sites (such as Sagnay and Canada) have been included alongside those of la Floride and la Terre du Labovreur. The inclusion of these names is a clear step forward, as the mapmaker and his society began to view the inhabitants not as uncivilized cannibals, but rather as a different type of culture.
Map No. 3 – Descelier’s Map of 1546
Map No. 4 – Champlain’s Master Map of New France
Samuel de Champlain first came to Canada in 1603, and then devoted his life to the colony of Quebec City. Before 1607, he had explored and mapped the Acadian and New England coasts as far south as Martha’s Vineyard. He discovered Lake Champlain, and ascended the Ottawa River to explore further inland than any had mapped before. By 1615, he had reached Lake Nipissing and Georgian Bay, venturing into Iroquois country by way of Lake Simcoe, the Trent River and then Lake Ontario. Champlain was bestowed with the title The Father of New France for contributing so much towards mapping and exploring Canada, and this master map of 1632 is the jewel of his geographical achievements.
As for the map itself, it bears unprecedented detail compared to its forefathers as a result of Champlain’s explorations around the landscape. The Great Lakes and Hudson’s Bay were accurately located and sized, as was the Gulf of the St. Lawrence and the areas around it. As for the various cultures represented in the map, Champlain adopted a strong French narrative in his map, completely disregarding the generations of Aboriginal villages and trade routes in favour of renaming the new lands as he pleased. The map represents the height of French colonialism, and for some, marked the beginning of Canada as a burgeoning administrative centre. The map certainly is impressive in its scale and detail, however it completely over writes the centuries of history that had already laid claim to the land.
Map No. 5 – Map of Buache and Delisle
Phillipe Buache drew this map in 1750 for the memoir of his brother-in-law, Joseph Nicolas Delisle. The map combines the discoveries of Russian Voyagers Bering and Tchirikov with the fictional ones of Admiral Bartholomew de Fonte and Juan de Fuca to create a beautiful, yet completely imaginary depiction of North America.
The fictional story of the North West Passage of Admiral de Fonte could have plausibly come from the minds of Daniel Defoe or Jonathan Swift, as the tail originated in an English magazine in the spring of 1708. Juan de Fuca, on the other hand, voyaged to the Pacific North West in 1592 and sent back reports of ‘shinning mountains’ and the sea beyond them. Thus, massive body of water obscures much of present-day British Columbia.
As for the rest of the map’s accuracy, the East coast has been realistically portrayed, with the names of many cities and forts included, such as Montreal, Quebec, Huron, Tadousac and Acadia included. However, Buache did opt to include some Aboriginal names in his map, thus showing an interesting perspective of the land. In 1750, Canada was technically the property of France, and the east coast up to Montreal had been largely settled. However, places West of that were largely still under the control of native populations, and as such the map shows one of the last periods of time when Canada was not completely colonized. The indigenous peoples were still commanding their ancestral lands and had yet to be supressed by Europeans, which is a time period not often considered in the history of Canada. Our country did exist for thousands of years before 1867, and this map is a strong reminder of that fact.
Map No. 6 – The Sayer Map of North America
Sayer produced this map following the resolution of the War of Spanish Succession between England and France, after the death of King Charles II. According to the Treaty of Utrecht (which ended the War), France conceded to Britain several territories in North America, including that of Canada. Thus, this map marks a defining point in the predominant narrative history of Canada; the point in which Canada moved from a relatively small, remote series of French forts to towards that of the developed and more populated Canada.
The map is extremely detailed and accurate in its representation of the coastline and overall landscape, which reflects the renewed British interest (and investment) in the country after gaining sovereignty over the land. The visual representation of this development is quite the hallmark of the traditional (British) Canadian identity, and depicts a nation on the brink of development into the multi-cultural, inclusive country we call home today. We had yet to gain true independence from a foreign country, and yet the new era certainly marked a renewed growth and period of prosperity for the land. By this point, Canada had emerged as an important nation, having gained many of its defining names and geographical features to give rise to our country today.
Map No. 7 – Holland’s Map of Lower Canada (1838)
Drawn by William Sax, this map was designed to principally show the internal communications of Lower Canada, and to record the division of the Province into counties. This map is an early and interesting record of the County division of Quebec, and comprises an accurate picture of the area at the time the map was made. Maps such as this provide invaluable records of the times in which they were drawn. They picture an area to a remarkable degree; showing boundary lines, recording the spread of settlement, and the development of transportation routes.
The map itself demonstrates a defined colonialist Canada, marking the land of the Seigneurs, townships and grants of land according to the Patent Office of Quebec and determines the true course of the River that St. Croix (the boundary between Canada and the newly established United States).
To the average Canadian, recognizable points emerged on this rendition of the Eastern side of the country, such as Fort York, Montreal and Peterborough. By this point, Lower Canada had been pretty much completely settled by European immigrants, having driven any remaining Aboriginal populations further west into the unsettled land. Thus, there are no more aboriginal names or populations shown on the map, which foreshadows the horrific assimilation attempts of the 19th and 20th centuries.
Map No. 8 – Smyth’s Map of Upper Canada (1838)
This map is the earliest printed map of what is now the province of Ontario, and shows the four divisions of the territory, as they were named at the opening session of the first parliament of Upper Canada at Kinston in 1792. The map was made at the request of Major-General John Graves Simcoe, first Lieutenant-Governor of Upper Canada, and shows the new settlements, townships and other areas from Quebec to Lake Huron, and tells a fascinating – yet one sided – story of early Canadian years.
Interestingly enough, this map shows the beginning of the Aboriginal Reserve strategy, which can be seen at the bottom tip of Lake Ontario, where Reserved Lands have been set aside under the title Townships of the Six Nations, with Church Lands directly bordering it.
Map No. 9 – Laurie’s Map of the North-West Territories (1870)
This is one of the first maps created West of Lake Huron, and so marks a distinct enlargement and development of Canada, and certainly one of the first to show the fledging province of Manitoba. The map was drawn by Patrick Laurie, the editor of The Nor’Wester, the Fort Garry newspaper at the time of Riel’s Manitoba rebellion.
Laurie actually refused to print this map in support of Riel’s Provisional Government, choosing to abandon his post under threat and fled to Ottawa, where he probably finished the map.
Map No. 10 – British Possessions West of the Rockies
Prior to 1858, the Pacific Slope of Canada was the domain of the fur traders, with Fort Victoria Hudson’s Bay Headquarters, and James Douglas administering the territory. Then, once the Cariboo Gold Rush began, before the year was over it was estimated that 33,000 men had surged into the country.
James Douglas had no time to await the formal authority of the Crown to set up means to keep order in the face of the inrush. Royal Navy units on hand help control the excited and often unruly miners, and Royal Engineers assisted Douglas in the face of managing the settling of them. Officers made several surveys, from which the War Department in England produced several maps to show the British Possessions west of the Rocky Mountains shortly before New Caledonia became the present-day British Columbia.
Map No. 11 – Map of the Island of Montreal, 1892
This map shows in detail the streets, parks and layout of Montreal City at that time, and also the extent of land ownerships, owner’s names and locations. Lots adjacent to the city are numbered, with the owner’s name inscribed. Railways and bridges of the time are shown. Longueil was the only sparse settlement on the south shore of the St. Lawrence, as by this point the Industrial Revolution had landed on the continent and the country had officially become Canada as of Federation in 1867.
Map No. 12 – Early Quebec Countries, 1829