[British Colonies in America]
The Theatre of War in North America
Artifact IDTL 2026.1.9
Object Type
Temporary Loan
Date
1776
Printer
Robert Sayer
(1725 - 1794)
Printer
John Bennett
(died 1787)
Place MadeLondon, England
Medium
broadside map
DimensionsOverall H 30 1/2 in x W 22 3/4 in (77.5 cm x 57.8 cm)
Physical DescriptionMap, London: Sayer and Bennett, 1776
Map of the 13 colonies as possessions of Britain, after victory in The French and Indian War.
This sheet features an engraved map above a letterpress text block. The upper map displays eastern North America's coastlines, waterways, and colonial roads. A right-side inset contains geographic distance tables. The lower three-column text is titled A Compendious Account of the BRITISH COLONIES in NORTH-AMERICA. It is the original March 1776 first printing of The Theatre of War in North America, published by the London firm Sayer & Bennett. Printed just as British forces were evacuating Boston, this broadside map served as an essential, immediate informational guide for the British public breaking news of open rebellion across the Atlantic.
Map of the 13 colonies as possessions of Britain, after victory in The French and Indian War.
This sheet features an engraved map above a letterpress text block. The upper map displays eastern North America's coastlines, waterways, and colonial roads. A right-side inset contains geographic distance tables. The lower three-column text is titled A Compendious Account of the BRITISH COLONIES in NORTH-AMERICA. It is the original March 1776 first printing of The Theatre of War in North America, published by the London firm Sayer & Bennett. Printed just as British forces were evacuating Boston, this broadside map served as an essential, immediate informational guide for the British public breaking news of open rebellion across the Atlantic.
Historical NoteThe story of the American Revolution begins where an earlier war ends. In 1763, the east coast of North America was wholly ruled by Great Britain after its victory that year over France in the French and Indian War. In addition to the thirteen colonies that became the United States, Britain had acquired France’s possessions east of the Mississippi River in Canada, the Upper Midwest, and Florida. (France had retained Louisiana further to the west.) This map, printed in the turbulent revolutionary year of 1776, presents America as a vast land mass with indeterminate borders hemmed in by competing European empires and the Indigenous nations of the trans-Appalachian interior. Together, the map and its explanatory text provided a descriptive survey of the possessions of an ascending empire and the regions it needed to control and comprehend.
Additional DetailsCredit Lineon loan courtesy of the David M. Rubenstein Americana Collection
National Archives Catalog CollectionJohn F. Kennedy Library Museum Collection (National Archives Identifier 1676934)
National Archives Catalog SeriesPolitical Memorabilia (National Archives Identifier 1677287)
Use Restriction StatusRestricted - FullyUse Restriction NoteThe use of this image and document information is fully restricted. Reproduction in any manner is not allowed.On view