Cartography of New France: Tracing Jesuit Knowledge on Non-Jesuit Maps of Canada and North America

Though a large number of Jesuit missionaries were active in New France, the number of preserved Jesuit maps for this area is rather small. However, the extensive geographic knowledge gathered by the Jesuits in their field observations and through their communication with the local nations was not lost. Thanks to Jesuit accounts, their geographic information would soon find its way to European cartographers. Some of the most iconic printed maps of New France and North America included first-hand Jesuit knowledge. The influence of the explorations of French Jesuit explorers, such as Jérôme Lalemant, Saint Jean de Brébeuf, Francesco Giuseppe Bressani, Claude Dablon, Claude-Jean Allouez, Jacques Marquette, Pierre Raffeix, and Pierre-Michel Laure are clearly visible on numerous non-Jesuit maps produced in Canada and across Europe. The aim of this article is to trace Jesuit knowledge in numerous manuscript and printed maps compiled by non-Jesuit cartographers.