Franquelin’s Map of Lousiana
As a whole, the map is surprisingly accurate and helpful for the time. Landscapes and locations are given in detail and printed clearly. The coast lines are a bit bloated and small costal islands are bigger in proportion to the mainland, but the general shape is there. Trees are shown to represent what I’m assuming is deep forest and mountains to represent…well mountains. Other than that, there isn’t much more for discussion – besides country borders and claims. France does at least acknowledge the presents of Spain and England, but still lists all of the North as its own although there are no existing settlements shown. And of course – no Indian claims.
The story here seems ultimately an ambitious and finally organized and formal conquering of the new world. None of the world powers care who may already be there, but do know the resources on the land. What more would push an empire to colonize? The European countries are there for the land, for the resources, for the ability to boast – and they can. They’re white and civilized! Simply taking what they have the ability to.
My passage quote will simply be “For a moment in history, the close proximity of Europeans, Africans, Native American, and others held the potential for multiple exchanges among diverse peoples, which might have served as the foundation for a truly pluralistic democratic vision. Sadly, what this literature also reveals is how this vision was sacrificed to the creation of whiteness.” Okay, maybe not so simple, but you can plainly see in the map how whiteness was undeniably going to be established by all of the claiming of land by the Europeans – with no regard as to who may or may not be there already.
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