This rare original map published in Edinburgh, Scotland is one of only a handful to name the “Republic of Texas" on the face of the map as well as in the cartouche. Texas was recognized by Queen Victoria & Great Britain only 2 years before this map was published.
The Republic of Texas is shown in the strawberry configuration stopping at the Nueces River - this matches the early Land Grants issued by the Spanish Crown and the Mexican government. Although Santa Anna signed a treaty that established the western boundary of Texas as the Rio Grande River to its source, the Mexican government repudiated the treaty as Santa Anna’s forces withdrew from Texas. The Mexican Government resisted the idea of an independent Texas and maintained that if such a country did indeed exist it could not be any larger than the land grants that had been issued to the Empresarios who had worked to bring settlers to Texas.
There are fascinating historic of details marked in Texas such as the El Camino Real, the only wagon road running east and linking Texas to French ( and later ) American Louisiana and then south from San Antonio de Bexar to Old Mexico. In the early days of Texas, one either went on the Camino ( also known as the Old San Antonio Road ) all the way up to Natchitoches on the Red River and then down to the Mississippi or else down to the Texas seacoast at Indianola, Copano, Texana or Velasco and then on a ship over to New Orleans and beyond. The colonial capital of San Felipe de Austin is recorded as well as Harrisburg, which of course today we know as Houston.
This captivating piece of history includes a wealth of information beyond Texas. The United States is marked to the east, and west of Texas is New California and Old California as well as “unknown parts” of Mexico. There is also fine detail south of Texas in old Mexico and Central America.
