The Raffeix Map

The map seems to show the state of Jesuit knowledge of the interior, and particulary, the Illinois River, at the earliest, 1682. Father Raffeix was a well known Jesuit missionary in New France from 1663 to 1724. The 1676 date on the linked article is incorrect because, among other instances, a 1681 La Salle reference is seen on the map.

 

Prior to the Raffeix map, the Thèvenot Map, as published in 1681, can be seen on the Library of Congress website with LOC+Maps--> Discovery.It appears to represent the extent of Jesuit knowledge up to 1681. Here is an image of this map with north at the top instead of at the right as on the LOC.

 

The Thèvenot Map

 

 

As popularized in 1681, this map was published as the authentic Marquette map and remained to be thought of as such until the middle of the 19th century. Then the allegedly real Marquette map, the Marquette Autograph Map, was said to have been discovered. The Illinois River as rendered by the Jesuits on this 1681 map shows a very crude knowledge. The Marquette Autograph Map, however, said to have been drawn eight years earlier, is drawn with the Illinois River revealing an accuracy not seen until 1813.

 

The Thèvenot Map (1681) and the Raffeix Map (1682) show the true state of Jesuit knowledge of the course of the Illinois River in those years. The sudden appearance of the Marquette Autograph Map in the mid-1800s, and the sudden appearance of related documents at the same time, seem to have been attempts to alter the historical record in favor of a Jesuit preeminence of discovery, whereas the earliest documented accomplishments seem to be those of La Salle.