Willem Albert Bachiene; 1712 - 1783.
Preacher, geographer, astronomer, this real renaissance
man, once a theology student at the University of Utrecht,
served as chaplin (padre) in the army. In 1764, he was appointed
Professor of Astronomy and Geography at the Illustre School
in Maastricht. He produced a large amount of maps and writings
related to the Holy Land, the church organization in Holland,
etc..
A lot of his work was published after his death till 1796.
Kaart van Louisiana, en Florida
This map (8 5/16" X 12 5/8") was included in Bachiene"Atlas
tot Opheldering der Hedendaasche Historie", edited in
1785 by M Schalekamp in Amsterdam.
It is rather unusual: the coastal delineation is quite correct
(specially for the Louisiana part which the French knew very
well after forty five years of presence in New Orleans, founded
in 1718), but the states lines are quite erratic and unlike
the trademark professional precision of Bonne*. On the Atlantic
side, the Georgia Florida border does not follow the St Marys
river, The western most Florida border is not following the
Iberville river. The state line between the two Carolinas
is pure fantasy. Louisiane still extends deeply east of the
Mississippi (french sovereignty over that area was terminated
by the first treaty of Paris in 1763). And finally: no mention
is made of the two Floridas. Under the British rule (between
1763 and 1783), Florida was partitioned into West (capital
city: Pensacola) and East (capital city: St Augustine).
Note also the profound ignorance of the inland geography of
the Florida peninsula (strange shape and location for the
Okeechobee lake, here named St Esprit, or Holy Ghost).
No text on verso.
* Said state lines are not important in 1780 (both Georgia and Florida belonged to England)...but after the Revolutionary War ended, Georgia fell with the newly established USA while Florida was back under the control of Spain....imprecision of borders will have some unfortunate consequences..
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