The map was produced as background information in connection with an inquiry by a Select Committee of the British House of Commons looking "to consider the State of those British Possessions in North America which are under the Administration of the Hudson's Bay Company, or over which they possess a Licence to Trade."

The lithographed map is the first known attempt by European map makers to describe the areas occupied by North America's First Nations. Interestingly, the First Nations are grouped and mapped according to their linguistic affiliation, not by their political or economic alliances which was the standard practice when mapping European nations. Population estimates within each linguistic group are indicated in an accompanying table.