Name/Title
CE 1842 Pierre & Alexandre Lapie, Carte des États-Unis du Mexique (Map of Mexico)Description
Pierre Lapie (1777–1850) and Alexandre Émile Lapie (1809–1850)
Carte des États-Unis du Mexique
From Atlas Universel de Géographie Ancienne et Moderne
Paris, 1842
Copper engraving on paper with hand coloring
Approx. 70 × 51 cm
Published in 1842, this map depicts Mexico during the period between the independence of the Republic of Texas in 1836 and the Mexican-American War of 1846–1848. Mexico is shown extending across a large portion of western North America, including territories subsequently incorporated into the United States.
Texas appears separately outlined within the larger North American geography, reflecting the unsettled political situation following the Texas Revolution. Mexico continued to reject Texan independence, while the Republic of Texas asserted territorial claims extending considerably beyond the areas it actually controlled. These competing claims contributed to the territorial disputes that preceded the Mexican-American War.
The map is particularly useful as a representation of North American political geography immediately before the major territorial transformations of the late 1840s. Following the war, the Treaty of Guadalupe Hidalgo (1848) transferred an extensive area from Mexico to the United States, including present-day California, Nevada, Utah, and substantial portions of several other western states.
An inset at lower left depicts Central America, where political boundaries were also changing following the dissolution of the Federal Republic of Central America. The map therefore records a period in which political jurisdictions across both Mexico and Central America remained in considerable transition.
Pierre and Alexandre Lapie were French cartographers whose atlases combined contemporary geographical information with the conventions of nineteenth-century French scientific cartography. Political boundaries on this example are emphasized through hand-applied color.Create Date
June 2, 2026Update Date
September 4, 2026