The map is not the terrain

King James I: the map (1621) he was working with when he chartered Sir William Alexander to create New Scotland.

Pretty good progress in a little more than a decade of map-making. credit: mapmogul.com

, "Considered one of the earliest coloured maps of Canada, this is the first printed map to show an accurate location for Prince Edward Island, circa 1630s.

By 1838, a familiar, accurate and detailed Nova Scotia map emerges.

Belcher's map of the Province of Nova Scotia, including the Island of Cape Breton, compiled from actual & recent surveys, & under the authority of the Provincial Legislature, by William Mackay, draughtsman. 1838

A topological map showing the elevations above sea level in the Annapolis Royal area

This last map shows the extent of the Annapolis River's salt water marshes and by extension, where fields for crops would be created, once dyked and drained. Two: an anchorage protected by the North and South Mountains---which inspired DeMonts to call the body of water Port-Royal, where dozens and dozens of French ships might safely anchor. Three: the relative height from which Allain's River falls into the river, making it ideal to run water wheels.

These desirable aspects of the terrain from a European perspective , explored in person by the first French, Scottish, and English arrivals largely determined their decision to settle it, finding its cumulative qualities ideal for their purposes, and why it was fought over for the next one hundred years.

Mapannapolis.ca: Mapping our Stories. Discovering Ourselves.