Map 4: New England -- The Most Remarqueable Parts Thus Named By The High and Mighty Prince Charles, Prince of Great Britaine
Captain John Smith (1579-1631) London, 1624 Engraving. 30 x 35 cm. About this Map This is the foundation map of New England cartography… [ more ] Main Map
About this Map This is the foundation map of New England cartography, for it is the first printed map devoted exclusively to the coast of New England and the first to use the name "New England." The map was drawn by Captain John Smith, who had first settled in Virginia, on the basis of voyages he made along the New England coast in 1614 and 1615. Smith's map was prepared in 1615, published in 1616, and modified and republished at least nine times. Although Smith coined the name New England, other still-existing place names were designated by Prince Charles, later King Charles I -- "The River Charles" for himself, "Cape Anna" for his mother, and "Plimouth," later adopted by the Pilgrims as the name for their 1620 landing site. Some names on the map, however, no longer exist or were later used elsewhere--"Cape James" is now Cape Cod and "Boston," which had not yet been founded, appears on this map near present York, Maine.
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