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| VIEW | Forts and Posts of the Canadian Fur Trade |
VIEW | The Accuracy of David Thompson |
| VIEW | Measuring David Thompson`s Explorations |
VIEW | Measuring Peter Fidler`s Explorations |
| VIEW | The Exploration and Mapping of the Fraser River |
VIEW | David Thompson`s Mapping of North America |
The Lost Maps ~ Thompson's Mapping of Western North America
There are now a group of individuals who are performing research on the surviving maps of David Thompson (1770-1857). Currently, my colleagues and I are
focussing our attention on the surviving versions of the map delivered by Thompson to his employer, the North West Company at Fort William (Thunder Bay, ON).
Commonly referred to as the Map of 1814, it was redrawn on at least two occasions for specific reasons. The first surviving version is held by the Archives
of Ontario, and today is faded to the point of unread ability. It was thought to have been drawn in 1816, The second is held by the National Archives in Kew
England and was likely drawn in c.1825 and delivered to the British Foreign Office in November of 1826 and is entitled ‘A Map of North America from 84 Degrees
West to the Pacific Ocean’. This version was believed to have been created to provide evidence to the British of the value of keeping the Oregon Territory
(first thoroughly explored and mapped by Thompson) during the Oregon dispute.
Very little attention has been paid attention to the maps created by Thompson, and I dare say Peter Fidler as well. This has always struck me as odd as so much
attention has been paid to map makers such as Arrowsmith. This fact is exasperating given the fact that the maps created by Aaron Arrowsmith, which were created
at a much smaller scale, utilized a great deal of survey data exclusively from Thompson and Fidler’s work. It has always perplexed me as to why so little attention
has been paid to the surveyors of the day who experienced firsthand the landscapes they wrote about and illustrated.
Although David Thompson’s 1814 map was not the only map produced of the northwest in the early to late 19th Century, it was the first to accurately portray this
portion of the continent from the Pacific to the Hudson’s Bay. Within the surviving versions of the 1814 map, and other maps created by him; there is evidence that
provides testimony of Thompson’s remarkable talents as a cartographer, his clear understanding of surveying, his obvious desire to demonstrate his ability to understand
the continent in terms of measured distance and area, and his need to say so much within the context of a map.
This will be eventually formulated into a small paper and I hope someday part of a book of Thompson's Mapping of Western North America. Until presented in an appropriate
fashion, his work will forever remain lost…
If you would like to view or purchase a copy of ‘A Map of North America from 84 Degrees West to the Pacific Ocean’ or its companion map ’A The Oregon Territory 110°
West to the Pacific Ocean’, you may visit Arcturus Consulting Limited.
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