Nicholas de Fer (1646-1720) was a French cartographer and publisher of atlases. This hand-colored map by de Fer from 1720 is actually a pirated copy of a manuscript map of 1696 by Father Eusebio Kino (1645-1711). Kino was an Italian-born Jesuit priest who was trained as a cartographer. Best known for his work in establishing missions and in defending the rights of Indians, he also made important geographic discoveries. In the 1680s and 1690s he explored Pimería Alta in present-day southern Arizona and northern Mexico. His explorations of Baja California and the Colorado River eventually led him to conclude definitively that California was not an island – a discovery not yet reflected in de Fer’s later map.