When we imagine New England’s geography today, we likely think about its location relative to the rest of the United States. But in the eighteenth century, Boston was at the center of a distinct regional economy formed by Massachusetts, Connecticut, Rhode Island, and New Hampshire, and the city was often referred to as “the Metropolis of New England.” This French map, created by Georges-Louis Le Rouge, juxtaposes two scales: a sweeping view of New England’s contested territories alongside an intimate glimpse of Boston.
Though the map claims to portray the “most inhabited part” of the region, this designation referred only to areas inhabited by colonists, not to the ancestral homelands of the thousands of Indigenous peoples displaced by European colonizers. A large interior frontier, marked by spaces not yet divided into towns, ran through Massachusetts, New Hampshire, and the disputed territory of what is now Vermont.
The environmental conditions of upland New England were poorly suited for the large-scale plantation agricultural practices of the eighteenth century, which meant colonists were dependent on coastal trade for economic growth. As the British government began to consolidate control over its international trade networks, New England, and Boston in particular, stood in a particularly vulnerable position.
Le Rouge brought a unique perspective to the map you see here. Born in Germany, he later trained as a military engineer before relocating to Paris, where he built a career translating and adapting English maps for French audiences. This map reflects his careful attention to both regional and local detail. In the inset at the upper left, Boston is presented as a complex urban space, rather than a dot on a regional map. Placed together, these local and regional scales help us understand how Boston’s local geography shaped imperial ambitions across a contested New England. Compare the Boston inset to the regional map of New England. Notice how details that are visible at city scale disappear at the regional scale.