What was advertised in a revolutionary American newspaper 250 years ago today?
“MAP … Shewing the SEAT of the present unhappy CIVIL WAR in NORTH-AMERICA.”
On August 3, 1775, Rivington’s New-York Gazetteer carried a subscription proposal for a “COMPLETE and ELEGANT MAP” that extended from Boston to Worcester to the west, Providence to the south, and Salem to the north, “Shewing the SEAT of the present unhappy CIVIL WAR in NORTH-AMERICA.” The “AUTHOR,” Bernard Romans, realized that colonizers who read and discussed news about the battles at Lexington and Concord in April, the siege of Boston that followed, and the Battle of Bunker Hill would likely be interested in learning more about the geography of New England. Among the conditions, he specified that “all places where any remarkable event has hitherto occurred, and the provincial lines, &c. shall be particularly pointed out.” The map itself featured an inset that depicted “BOSTON and itsENVIRONS” that did indeed have its own legend identifying important places, “Provincial Lines,” and “Enemy Lines” as well as an illustration that provided “A View of the Lines thrown upon BOSTON NECK: by the Ministerial Army.”
Romans made support for the American cause an integral part of his marketing effort. He followed the list of conditions for subscribing (that included the price and descriptions of “good paper and large scale”) with a reflection on the imperial crisis: “Hail, O Liberty! thou glorious, thou inestimable blessing: Banished from almost every part of the old world, America, thy darling, received thee as her beloved: Her arms shall protect thee, – her sons will cherish thee!” When Romans published the map, it included a dedication “To the Hone. Jno. Hancock Esqre. President of ye Continental Congress … By his Most Obedient Humble Servant.” As Patriots purchased, collected, and consulted political pamphlets, journals of the proceedings of the First Continental Congress, orations about the Boston Massacre, and sermons about the present state of affairs, Romans presented them with yet another piece of memorabilia that helped them in better understanding current events. The map was a commemorative item produced and sold even before the colonies declared independence.
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The Massachusetts Historical Society has digitized Romans’s map, accompanied by a brief overview of its significance and a short essay about Romans and other cartographers active during the era of the American Revolution.