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Description:This magnificent hand coloured original copper-plate engraved antique map of the Colonial United States, at the beginning of the American Revolutionary War, was engraved in 1777 - dated in cartouche - by the Homann firm, Germany.Detailed map of the British Colonies in North America, published at the beginning of the American Revolution. The map is based on the cartography of J.B.B. D Anville, although the political boundaries are British leaning, based upon Thomas Jefferys map of the British Colonies published in 1755 for the political detail. The map depicts the various British colonial claims, including: Bounds of Hudson Bay by the Treaty of Utrecht, North Limits of New England by Charter of 1620 (to the west of Lake Superior) Boundary between Virginia & New England, Boundary between Carolina & Virginia, Boundary of South Carolina by Charter of 1663. Also shown are notes many British Forts, a well as Walkers Settlement on the Cumberland or Shannowens River. Many Indian Tribes are also noted. To the bottom right and top left are annotations of the English occupation of North America dating back to Cabot in 1497, with a brief historical account of each of the British Colonies. Also included is a similar account of the French history in North America.
General Definitions:Paper thickness and quality: - Heavy and stablePaper color : - off whiteAge of map color: - Original & laterColors used: - Yellow, green, blue, pinkGeneral color appearance: - AuthenticPaper size: - 20 1/2in x 18 1/2in (510mm x 470mm)Plate size: - 20 1/2in x 18 1/2in (510mm x 470mm)Margins: - Min 1/2in (12mm)
Imperfections:Margins: - Margins cropped to plate-markPlate area: - Age tonedVerso: - Age toned
Background: The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the American War of Independence, was an 18th-century war between Great Britain and its Thirteen Colonies (allied with France) which declared independence as the United States of America.After 1765, growing constitutional and political differences strained the relationship between Great Britain and its colonies. Patriot protests against taxation without representation followed the Stamp Act and escalated into boycotts, which culminated in 1773 with the Sons of Liberty destroying a shipment of tea in Boston Harbor. Britain responded by closing Boston Harbor and passing a series of punitive measures against Massachusetts Bay Colony. Massachusetts colonists responded with the Suffolk Resolves, and they established a shadow government which wrested control of the countryside from the Crown. Twelve colonies formed a Continental Congress (with the exception of Georgia) to coordinate their resistance, establishing committees and conventions that effectively seized power.British attempts to disarm the Massachusetts militia in Concord led to open combat and a British defeat on April 19, 1775. Militia forces then besieged Boston, forcing a British evacuation in March 1776, and Congress appointed George Washington to command the Continental Army. Concurrently, the Americans failed decisively in an attempt to invade Quebec and raise insurrection against the British. On July 2, 1776, the Second Continental Congress voted for independence, issuing its declaration on July 4. Sir William Howe launched a British counter-offensive, capturing New York City and leaving American morale at a low ebb. However, victories at Trenton and Princeton restored American confidence. In 1777, the British launched an invasion from Quebec under John Burgoyne, intending to isolate the New England Colonies. Instead of assisting this effort, Howe took his army on a separate campaign against Philadelphia, and Burgoyne was decisively defeated at Saratoga in October 1777.Burgoynes defeat had drastic consequences. France formally allied with the Americans and entered the war in 1778, and Spain joined the war the following year as an ally of France but not as an ally of the United States. In 1780, the Kingdom of Mysore attacked the British in India, and tensions between Great Britain and the Netherlands erupted into open war. In North America, the British mounted a Southern strategy led by Charles Cornwallis which hinged upon a Loyalist uprising, but too few came forward. Cornwallis suffered reversals at Kings Mountain and Cowpens. He retreated to Yorktown, Virginia, intending an evacuation, but a decisive French naval victory deprived him of an escape. A Franco-American army led by the Comte de Rochambeau and Washington then besieged Cornwallis army and, with no sign of relief, he surrendered in October 1781.Whigs in Britain had long opposed the pro-war Tories in Parliament, and the surrender gave them the upper hand. In early 1782, Parliament voted to end all offensive operations in America, but the war continued overseas. Britain remained under siege in Gibraltar but scored a major victory over the French navy. On September 3, 1783, the belligerent parties signed the Treaty of Paris in which Great Britain agreed to recognize the sovereignty of the United States and formally end the war. French involvement had proven decisive, but France made few gains and incurred crippling debts. Spain made some territorial gains but failed in its primary aim of recovering Gibraltar. The Dutch were defeated on all counts and were compelled to cede territory to Great Britain. In India, the war against Mysore and its allies concluded in 1784 without any territorial changes.