New England Map Analysis

New England

Maps not only serve as navigational tools, but also as indicators of social, political, and economic issues taking place. John Smith’s, map of New England serves as a prime example of this. The map provides a layout of New England and its surroundings. Areas with different geographies are made clear and important rivers are shown. Politically, England’s policy of colonization and power is displayed in the map. An example of this is the image of three ships all bearing English flags, sailing towards New England. This represents England’s desire and willingness to conquer new territory. The map also represents the various social issues that New England was confronted with. The map gives insight to how the explorers dealt with
The political importance of the map can be seen immediately by the name given to the English colony. “Smith coined the name New England.”1 This represents the British policy of imperial expansion. The name indicates that the territory belonged to the British. The choice of name by Smith would please the English monarch as well as make it clear to opposing nations that the territory was controlled. Although Smith named the colony, Prince Charles named many of the important territories. This indicates that power was ultimately held with the throne. Charles named, “”The River Charles” for himself, “Cape Anna” for his mother, and “Plimouth.””1 The drawing of three British ships sailing towards shore also confirms Britain’s policy of imperialism. The images give off a sense of British control of the Sea and their dominance of the area. Social issues are also made apparent by looking at the map. Throughout the map there are pictures of what appear to be houses. Many of these are different, some bigger than others. They represent the establishment of towns along the coast of New England. Some of these drawings appear to be Churches, which indicates the importance of religion to colonists. Along with this, the map covers one of the most important issues facing the colonists, the Native American’s. John Smith refers to them as “Savages” and writes that they
The scale of the map measures in leagues. Leagues are no longer used today but were the common measurement for explorers. The map itself is very neat and intricate. The main area of the map is the sea, but land is clearly illustrated and mountain and forest areas are distinctly indicated. The picture of John Smith is very modern and real. He is seen in his military outfit, hand on sword. One of the most intriguing aspects of the map is the symbols placed on it. One image has a lion and a Unicorn holding a shield and the other a bird on top of the shield. A French phrase appears on one, which is the motto of the English garter. A sea monster is drawn, which could have indicated rough water. There are multiple places on the map where Smith gives praise to himself. He names the Smith Iles and Cape James after himself. Besides Smith writing that he civilized savages there is no other indication of Native Americans on the map. Smith wanted to promote English colonization to the New World and did not want to scare settlers from coming. The map of New England shows the advancement of technology and artistry in