John Mitchell (1711-1768) was a colonial American cartographer and botanist. He created the most comprehensive 18th century map of North America, known today as the Mitchell Map. The Mitchell Map was used during the Treaty of Paris (1783) to define the boundaries of the newly independent United States and remains important today for resolving border disputes. // Events February 24 - The London premiere of Rinaldo by George Friderich Handel, the first Italian opera written for the London stage. ... 1768 was a leap year starting on Friday (see link for calendar). ... For other American colonies, see European colonization of the Americas or British colonization of the Americas. ... Cartography is the study of map making and cartographers are map makers. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... World map showing North America A satellite composite image of North America. ... The Mitchell Map Mitchell Map is the common name used to refer to a map made by John Mitchell and all the various reprints made during the late 18th century. ... Painting by Benjamin West depicting John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. ...

Life

John Mitchell was born in 1711 in Lancaster County, Virginia to a relatively well off merchant and planting family. He went to Scotland to study at the University of Edinburgh, earning an M.A. in 1729, then studying medicine until 1731, apparently without receiving a medical degree. He then returned to Virginia to practice medicine. In his spare time he studied natural history and became known as a botanist. Lancaster County is a county located on the Northern Neck in the state of Virginia. ... The University of Edinburgh, founded in 1583, is a renowned centre for teaching and research in Edinburgh, Scotland. ... Table of natural history, 1728 Cyclopaedia Natural history is an umbrella term for what are now usually viewed as several distinct scientific disciplines. ... Pinguicula grandiflora Botany is the scientific study of plantlife. ...

In 1745 Mitchell argued that a series of epidemics occuring in Virginia were due to unsanitory troop ships from Britain. Mitchell fell ill himself and traveled to Britain in 1746 to recuperate. It was during this visit to England that he became interested in mapmaking and publicizing the French threat to the British colonies.

Britain and France had fought a major global war in the early 18th century. Known as Queen Anne's War in the American British colonies, it was brought to an end with the Treaty of Utrecht (1713). The treaty set boundaries between the two nations' colonial claims in America, but by 1746 the British colonists were becoming increasingly convinced that the French were violating the treaty and encroaching on British territory. This was the political environment in which John Mitchell made his map. His goal was to show the French threat on a large scale, from the Gulf of Mexico to Hudson Bay. Queen Annes War (1702–1713) was the second in a series of four French and Indian Wars fought between France and Great Britain in North America for control of the continent and was the counterpart of War of the Spanish Succession in Europe. ... The Treaty of Utrecht was a series of peace treaties signed in Utrecht in 1713 that helped end the War of the Spanish Succession (Queen Annes War) By its provisions, Louis XIVs grandson Philip V of Spain was recognized as King of Spain, but Spains European empire...

A first draft of the map was made in 1750. It was only a rough draft, but it brought Mitchell to the attention of the Board of Trade and Plantations, which employed Mitchell in the creation of a new map. In this capacity, Mitchell had access to the Board's private collection of maps and reports. In addition, the Board instructed the colonial governors to send Mitchell detailed maps and boundary information. The Board of Trade circa 1808. ...

Mitchell's new map was published in 1755 by the London publisher Andrew Millar. A year later the Seven Years' War (known as the French and Indian War in the colonies) broke out between Britain and France. Andrew Millar (1707 - June 8, 1768), British publisher. ... Combatants Prussia, , Great Britain, , Hanover, Hesse-Kassel, Brunswick, , Ireland, , Portugal , Austria, , France, , Russia, Saxony, , Sweden, , Spain The Seven Years War (1754 and 1756–1763), some of the theatres of which are called the Pomeranian War and the French and Indian War (see below), was a war in the mid-18th... Combatants France and its Indian allies Britain and its Indian allies Strength 3,900 regulars 7,900 militia 2,200 natives (1759) 50,000 regulars and militia (1759) The French and Indian War was the nine-year North American chapter of the Seven Years War. ...

The first edition of Mitchell's map, copyrighted February 13, 1755, was titled A Map of the British and French Dominions in North America .... A second edition was quickly produced, probably in 1757, which included two large blocks of text describing the data sources and they were compiled into the map.

In 1767 Mitchell published a book titled The Present State of Great Britain and North America, With Regard to Agriculture, Population, Trade, and Manufacturers, Impartially Considered.

John Mitchell died in 1768. His map went through several further editions after his death. It was the most detailed map of North America available in the 18th century and was used as a primary reference during the Treaty of Paris (1783) that ended the American Revolutionary War. Some inaccurates in the map resulted in border disputes, particularly in Maine and near the source of the Mississippi River. Painting by Benjamin West depicting John Jay, John Adams, Benjamin Franklin, Henry Laurens, and William Temple Franklin. ... Combatants American Revolutionaries, France, The Netherlands, Spain, American Indians Great Britain, German mercenaries, Loyalists, American Indians Canadian Indians Commanders George Washington, Comte de Rochambeau, Nathanael Greene, Bernardo de Gálvez Sir William Howe, Sir Henry Clinton, Lord Cornwallis (more commanders) The American Revolutionary War (1775–1783), also known as the...

References

• John Mitchell's Map
• Library of Congress, Mitchell Map, Second impression of 1st Edition
• Purdy Foundation biography