Carta Geografica Della Florida Nell'America Settentrionale
[Geographical Map of Florida in North America]
Unidentified mapmaker
c. 1740

While partly relying on Delisle's 1718 map, this unidentified Italian mapmaker omitted much detail, including the founding of New Orleans.

One of the remarkable features of this map is the title cartouche depicting Native Americans hunting sleeping lions. European engravers and mapmakers commonly confused attributes of the Americas with those of Africa, and they often interchanged the flora and fauna of the three continents. It is also possible that the engraver was attempting to illustrate the American cougar, described by early explorers as a lion.

Gift of the Friends of the Cabildo

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Section 4 - The Map as Political Instrument