A very well and finely executed manuscript outlining the boundaries of a new colony between the approximate points of present day Memphis, north-east of Atlanta, south-west of Jackson and south-east of Montgomery. Coats-of-arms and various manuscript annotations.

Background history.
This unique original manuscript map outlines the boundaries of the proposed new colony of ‘New Italy’. ‘Napoleon’s defeat had caused his second abdication on 22 June 1815, and had placed Bourbon King Louis XVIII on the throne of France. Whilst looking for a place of refuge Napoleon had considered the United States of America. When asked concerning his plans for the future, he spoke of America as a final retreat where he could live with dignity. Napoleon considered this the most feasible plan and was impatient to set forth upon the long journey. Rumours reached him that at Rochefort a ship could be secured.

Upon his arrival at Rochefort, he found that he could obtain passage on a merchantman already prepared to sail. His brother Joseph had embarked for America with several of Napoleon’s attendants and part of his luggage. However, the whole of the Western seaboard [of Europe] was so valiantly watched by British men-of-war ‘that he was obliged to abandon the attempt in despair’ [memoirs of Napoleon]. Before other plans could be considered, all hope of escape was ended by entrance into the harbour of a British Warship Bellerophon, come for the purpose of seizing him, the Emperor. Thus was he captured and taken to St. Helena. Otherwise, it is conceivable that American History might have been different.’ (Thomas W. Martin).

A Napoleonic Confederation

‘Later in 1815, de Neuville, the French Minister to the United States, came into possession of a remarkable series of documents emanating from the exiled Joseph Lakanal setting up a plan for a Napoleonic Confederation in Mexico and the Southwest [the old southwest]. In his communication on the subject to the Duc de Richelieu, French Foreign Minister, de Neuville commented that: “The plan is like that of Colonel Burr, the insurrection of the West, with the real but concealed object of making Joseph Bonaparte King of Mexico.”‘ (Thomas W. Martin).

Joseph Bonaparte, the eldest brother of Napoleon held the throne of Naples in February 1806. The Bonaparte’s held many ties with Italy including their mother, Letitia Ramolino, who was Italian. Following the demise of Napoleon a large number of officers in the army were accused of treason on 26 July 1815. The ordinance of proscription had ordered large numbers be brought to court martial. Others were to be either expelled from France or tried. When Marshal Ney and others were executed it had become vindictive even to Napoleonic sympathisers. The thirst to flee France became urgent. With the knowledge of Napoleon’s intention to flee to the United States and his brother Joseph already there, many joined the sizeable French émigré communities already in Philadelphia and Baltimore. Estimates of the numbers emigrating according to Paris journals of the day were of 30,000 during the period of 1815-17. These included many of Napoleon’s most important officers. Joseph Bonaparte, styling himself as Count de Survilliers arrived in New York on the 20 August 1815. There was considerable sympathy in America for their plight.

‘The fall and winter of 1816 found Philadelphia’s streets teeming with French emigrants. On every corner there was talk of the possibility of making new settlements – French settlements – somewhere in the vast unclaimed territories of the United States. Under the leadership of Generals Charles and Henri L’Allemand … the Bonapartists organised a company to try to secure land for a French settlement somewhere on the American frontier, a place where French crops like grapes and olives might flourish. [Note the decoration to of these crops to the map].

At first the Bonapartists thought that they might be able to undertake such a project without the help of the American government. It appears to be at this stage that the manuscript map offered here was produced. They soon decided to send agents to Washington to lobby for a grant of four townships.’ (Winston Smith). The company was formally constituted in the fall of 1816. With Napoleon’s financial backing, Joseph became instrumental in establishing a colony for his sympathisers in the Deep South. The United States government eventually granted them 92,160 acres on 3 March 1817 giving them four townships of land in the Mississippi Territory. The price for the land was set at 2 dollars an acre to be paid for within 14 years. This was on the understanding that they cultivate vines and olives, unaware that the regions climatic conditions were not favourable for this. The United States was operating a large trade deficit in these products and was seeking to reduce this imbalance. Their first settlement was called Demopolis. The ‘Carte Generale Della Nova Italia’ is significant as it precedes both the granting of the townships as well the founding of the States of Mississippi in 1817 and Alabama two years later.

Provenance: Private French collection, the manuscript was discovered bound within a collection of French administrative papers that related to various French colonies in the early part of the nineteenth century. It has remained as part of a French collection until the present day. References: Thomas W. Martin. French Military adventures in Alabama 1818-1828. Birmingham Publishing Company, 5th edition, 1949. Winston Smith. Days of Exile. The Story of the Vine and Olive Colony in Alabama. 1967. Tuscaloosa, Alabama.