Revealing the Mysterious West: Delisle's Revolutionary Maps
Online, Denver, USA
Before the French Delisle family published maps of North America, California was shown as an island, the Mississippi River seemed to enter the Gulf of Mexico 500 miles too far west, and the North American interior was little known and confused. As the result of mostly French exploration in the continent’s mid-section around 1700, soon many geographical secrets would be revealed, and myths would be debunked. This 40-minute presentation provides the background and demonstrates how French father and son, Claude and Guillaume Delisle, produced superb maps that revolutionized understanding and were copied for decades.