Five Centuries of Hydrography – An Exhibition on Ancient Charts

A plan of Quebec and environs, with its defences and…during the siege of that place in 1759

Joseph Frederick Wallet DesBarres
1759
Bibliothèque et Archives nationales du Québec

This chart describes one of the most crucial pages in North America’s history, the British military campaign to take possession of New France. On this DesBarres’ nautical chart are represented the main military posts and camps as well as the sites of the main battles including the famous battle of the Plains of Abraham on September 13, 1759. The detailed mapping of the St. Lawrence River by DesBarres, Cook and Holland facilitated the arrival of General Wolfe’s fleet to Quebec City.