Dyasites

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French Maps 1633-1760

The early mapping of New York State includes maps produced by three of the leading colonial powers of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Both the similarities and the differences between the Dutch, French, and British maps of the area are…
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Preface

New York State would not exist if it had not been mapped. Although it may seem exaggerated, this statement is literally true, for there is nothing “natural” about the State of New York. As a distinct and separate entity, it…
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Mapping an Expanding Empire State 1790-1830

Economic and Social Developments, 1790-1830 This chapter overlaps the previous chapter chronologically, and many of the themes discussed here are closely linked with the physical expansion of New York, which was a major subject of the preceding chapter. The extension…
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Anglo-American Mapping 1664-1750

When the English took possession of New York in 1664, they knew little about the geography of their new province. Initially, their knowledge was derived largely from Dutch maps. Even the boundaries of the colony were quite uncertain. Shortly after…
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Commercial Cartography 1830-1860

Commercial mapping in the thirty years prior to the Civil War does not require extensive discussion here. This is partially because many of developments in New York have already been covered in considerable depth by W.W. Ristow in his book…
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