Carolina by Herman Moll, geographer. 1729.

Carolina by Herman Moll, geographer. 1729.

Herman Moll’s 1729 map of Carolina, which is known as the Azilia Map, contains only a little more information about this region than what appeared on his 1720 “A New Map of the North Parts of America claimed by France . . . .” Both identified the future Georgia as Azilia. Sir Robert Montgomery requested that he be granted the land between the Savannah and Altamaha Rivers as a military buffer south of Carolina. His descriptions presented the land’s natural beauty as being a “Paradise” and labeled the Golden Islands along the coast. His proposal to create the Margravate of Azilia never rose about the level of a plan. On his 1720 map, Moll identified the area as the Margravate of Azilia in 1720 but only as Azilia in 1729, perhaps realizing the failure of Montgomery’s scheme.

In both his 1720 and 1729 maps, Moll trumpeted the military triumphs of the Charlestonians against the Spanish and the Indians. Both maps note the location of St. Maria de Palxy, a Spanish Apalachee Indian mission, destroyed by the English in 1705. Moll noted the contributions of Captain Thomas Nairn to his 1720 map; he had served as a commander in the raid against the Apalachees before being killed by the Yamassee in 1715. In 1720 Moll notes the victories of the English against the Indians in 1712 and 1716.

Moll’s information about Captain Nairn and warfare on the frontier might well have come from the contacts Moll developed at Jonathan’s coffee house in London that was frequented by well-known literati and adventurers, including pirates.

1729