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[Smith seems to have coined the name "old Virginia" to distinguish the area covered by Sir
Walter Ralegh's patent (including the short-lived Roanoke colony) from that comprised in the
patent, or charter, of 1606 that led to the founding of Jamestown (see sig. A3r, "A Map of the old
Virginia").
Ralegh had been authorized by Queen Elizabeth to name the "newly-discovered territories
in America 'Virginia' in her honour" sometime between January 6 and March 24, 1585 (Quinn,
Roanoke Voyages, I, 120, 145, 147). Afterwards the name was extended to include all the northeast
of the present United States that was discovered, explored, and settled by the English (or British,
later) until other names for various regions took hold, beginning with Bermuda and Smith's "New
England."
The engraved "Map of the old Virginia," hereafter referred to as "Ould Virginia," is the work
of Robert Vaughan (see the Biographical Directory). It has ten compartments, largely inspired by
the engravings made by Theodore de Bry for his illustrated edition of Thomas Harriot's A briefe
and true report on the new found land of Virginia (Frankfurt am Main, 1590; repr. with a new introduction
by Paul Hulton [New York, 1972]), based on John White's drawings of 1585 to 1586 from life.
Nine of these are "Indian" scenes, to which Vaughan added representations of Smith wherever
justifiable. The tenth and largest compartment is little more than a direct copy of de Bry's "carte
of all the coast of Virginia" ("Americae pars, Nunc Virginia dicta," on the map), which was based on
John White's manuscript map, "La Virginea Pars," derived from his survey of the coast (see Quinn,
Roanoke Voyages, II, Index [s.v. White, John]; and Cumming, Skelton, and Quinn, Discovery of
North America, 173-180, map 213, 193-205).
Vaughan used two-thirds of de Bry's Indian place-names (from White's map), with some distortion
and with additions apparently suggested by John Smith. Although there are four states of
the map, the nine illustrative drawings remained unaltered. The first state, which is reproduced
here, omits some of de Bry's details, but adds Smith's coat-of-arms and impalement at the bottom.
These heraldic features are described in the True Travels, notes to the title page (Vol. III, below).
Toponymically, the map is of little significance, though the English place-names are evidence of
Smith's gratitude for the help granted or sought -- with stress on his benefactress, Frances Howard.
The twenty-five specific changes in the second state are not listed in Sabin, and indeed only Robert
Vaughan's joking name "Ynys Llygod" is worth mentioning, but the third and fourth states are
described in detail (Dictionary, XX, 227-228).
The editor is grateful to the Princeton University Library for permission to reproduce this
engraving, here slightly reduced.]
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