Journal of Geography and Cartography 2024, 7(1), 5964. https://doi.org/10.24294/jgc.v7i1.5964 1 Article The French discourse on the delineations of the Spanish colonies in the early 19th century: The memoirs of Rigobert Bonne and Eustache Hérisson Bárbara Polo-Martín 1,2 1 Departament de Geografia, Història i Història de l'Art, Universitat de Lleida, Pl. Víctor Siurana, 1., 25003 Lleida, Spain; barbarapolomartin@gmail.com 2 EconomiX, Centre National de Recherche Scientifique, 92000 Nanterre, France Abstract: The 19th century proved to be one of the most complicated periods in Spanish history for the Spanish Crown, as it faced both internal conflicts—the French War of Independence—and external conflict—the independence of what were its territories in most of America. France did not remain indifferent to this and always had a clear idea of where to draw the boundaries of what “belonged” to it. Thus, amid the wave of independence movements in the Spanish colonies, the French continued to produce rich cartography to establish these boundaries and settle their power over the new nations that were arising after the period of revolutions. The cartography of Rigobert Bonne, the last cartographer of the French king and the Revolution Era, and one of its disciples, Eustache Hérisson, represent the perfect witness to the changes over the borders of the Spanish colonies during the change of the century. This study aims to analyze such cartography, examine the rich toponyms it offers, and examine the changes in the boundaries created over time between both empires. The main cartography we will rely on will be that of Bonne, one of the most important cartographers of the 18th century, and his disciple Hérisson, a geographer engineer, who lived through the onset of the conflicts and always prioritized the French perspective and the interests of their nation. Keywords: limits; historical cartography; French cartography; geographers; independencies 1. Introduction The 19th century posed one of the most complicated periods in the history of the Spanish Crown, as it faced both a conflict within its own country, the French War of Independence, and an external conflict, the independence of what were its territories—or colonies—in most of South America. The territorial disputes that followed this era of independence for various territories are a complex and multifaceted aspect of the geopolitical landscape of South America. In the establishment of new border boundaries, historical legacies, colonial-era treaties, and conflicting territorial claims were involved, some of which persist to this day. France, like other countries, did not remain unaffected by this and always had a very clear idea of where to draw the boundaries of what “belonged to it”. Some countries, like Portugal, decided not to wait and see how events unfolded. The so- called Luso-Brazilian Invasion (1816–1820) resulted in the annexation of what is now Uruguay, the southern region of Brazil, and the Argentine Mesopotamia to the United Kingdom of Portugal, Brazil, and the Algarves, and upon its independence in 1824, to the Kingdom of Brazil. This area was the origin of the subsequent conflict, the War of Brazil (1825–1828), in which Brazil lost the Eastern Bank, or Cisplatina, which would become a new country: Uruguay). Thus, amidst the wave of CITATION Polo-Martín B. The French discourse on the delineations of the Spanish colonies in the early 19th century: The memoirs of Rigobert Bonne and Eustache Hérisson. Journal of Geography and Cartography. 2024; 7(1): 5964. https://doi.org/10.24294/jgc.v7i1.596 4 ARTICLE INFO Received: 22 April 2024 Accepted: 13 May 2024 Available online: 27 May 2024 COPYRIGHT Copyright © 2024 by author(s). Journal of Geography and Cartography is published by EnPress Publisher, LLC. This work is licensed under the Creative Commons Attribution (CC BY) license. https://creativecommons.org/licenses/ by/4.0/