United States in 42 historical maps: 1507-2018 (130 pages). The United States of America (USA) are named after the Italian explorer Amerigo Vespucci. The name America was introduced by the German cartographer Martin Waldseemuller. He wrongly assumed that Amerigo Vespucci - and not Columbus – had been the first European who discovered the new western continent. The name appeared for the first time on his famous world map published in 1507. The printed wall map was lost for a long time; the only survived copy was found in Schloss Wolfegg, in southern Germany in 1901. The map, also called the “birth-certificate of America”, was purchased by the Library of Congress in 2003. The Eastern coastline of (Northern) America was drawn much more accurate on the world map of Ribero in 1527. The first separately printed map of the new continent (the Americas) was included in Sebastian Munster’s encyclopedia (1540 onwards). The first separate maps covering the area of present day USA – mostly the eastern part - appeared at the end of the 17th century. The name United States of America was introduced after their independence from the UK in 1776.

Germany in 47 historical maps: 150AD-2018 (140 pages). The name Germany and other similar names are all derived from the Latin word Germania. Julius Caesar was the first to use the word Germanus in his writings when describing tribes in north-eastern Gaul (region stretching out from present-day France). However, its origin remains uncertain. Some (German) historians suggest that the word has Celtic roots. E.g. it may be derived from: gair (neighbour), gar (“noisy”, referring to the tribesman) or hari (“man at arms”). In English-speaking regions, the word German first appeared in about1520, replacing earlier uses of Alman and Dutch. Germany was already described by Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. It is also depicted on the Mappa Mundi during the middle ages. The first printed separate maps of the country appeared in the early 16th century.

South-Africa in 46 historical maps: 1490-2018 (138 pages). The name Africa may be derived from the Phoenician word afar, meaning “dust”. The name Africa Terra (“Land of the dust”) was introduced by the ancient Romans to identify the northern part of the continent that corresponds to modern-day Tunisia. On classical Greek maps (e.g. Strabo’s world map) the name Libia was mostly used to identify the third known continent. During the Middle Ages, as the Europeans increased their knowledge and awareness of the size of the African continent, they progressively extended the name of Africa to the rest of the continent. Waldseemuller’s large map of 1507 - being partly based on Ptolemy’s ideas and new discovery’s - was one of the first world maps depicting the whole continent, including the South-African coastline. On the earlier world map of Martellus (1490) the southern part was truly out of shape; on Cantino’s world map (1502) it was corrected on account of information provided by Portuguese explorers. The first separately printed maps of the southern part of Africa appeared in the 16th century.

Sri Lanka in 42 historical maps: 1480-2018 (130 pages). The name Sri Lanka means “Holy Island” (from Sanskrit). Its former name is Ceylon, from Ceilão (Portuguese) and Zeilan (Dutch). It probably refers to “land of the lions”. On classical maps, based on Ptolemy’s writings, it was called Taprobana. This refers to “the island of King Rawana”. In the 16th and 17th century numerous separate maps appeared based on information of Dutch and Portuguese explorers. The capital city Colombo became an important harbour through the establishment of trading posts by Dutch, Portuguese and British colonists.

New Zealand in 30 historical maps: 1642-2018 (106 pages). New Zealand is named after the province of Zeeland in the Netherlands, which means “sea land”, referring to the large number of islands it contains. Abel Tasman, the first European explorer reaching the country in 1642, referred to New Zealand as Staten Landt. But later Dutch cartographers used Zeelandia Nova (Latin), followed by Nieuw-Zeeland in Dutch. Aotearoa has become the most common name for the country in the indigenous Maori language, meaning “land of the long white cloud”. After Tasman’s discovery of NZ, parts of its Western coastline appeared for the first time on the famous world (wall) map of the Blaeu family in 1648. It was assumed that the North- and South Island were connected. It took more than 100 years until the whole coastline was mapped, after Captain Cook had circumnavigated the country.

Australia in 39 historical maps: 1547-2018 (124 pages). The name Australia is adapted from the Latin name Terra Australis Incognita, meaning the “Unknown Southern Land”. The name was used on 16th century world maps, e.g. the ones of Mercator and Ortelius, to identify a large imaginary landmass stretching around the south pole. The present day country and continent became officially known as Australia in 1824, after the British explorer Matthew Flinders had circumnavigated the island 20 years earlier and introduced the name in his charts and publications. Before this, the Latin name Hollandia Nova (New Holland) was mostly used to identify present day Australia. The name was introduced by Dutch explorers who had discovered the West coast in the early 17th century. It appeared - for the first time - on the large world map of the Blaeu firm in 1648, and later in their printed Atlas Maior from 1662 onwards.

England in 42 historical maps: 1480-2018 (130 pages). In medieval times the name England (or Latin Anglia) was often used to identify the entire island of Great Britain. It means “Land of the Angles” and refers to the Celtic people living on the island prior to the Anglo-Saxon conquest. On later maps Anglia was limited to the southern part of the Island, and Scotia (Scotland) identified the Northern part. England was already described by Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. The first (printed) separate maps appeared at the end of the 16th century.

Wales in 44 historical maps: 1150-2018 (134 pages). The name Wales (and Welsh) derives from the Germanic root Walh (plural Walha). The name refers to the Celtic tribes known to the Romans as Volcae, being used to identify all Celtic inhabitants of the Roman Empire. The Welsh name for Wales is Cymry. The word is descended from the Brythonic word combrogi, meaning “fellow-countrymen”. The Latinised form is Cambria. It has survived in various geographical names; e.g. the Cambrian Mountains, which cover much of Wales. (They also gave their name to the Cambrian geological period.) The name Cambria was also used on the earliest printed maps of Wales, at the end of the 16th century. On later maps it would become Wallia (Latin) and Wales (modern English).

Scotland in 49 historical maps: 150AD-2018 (144 pages). The origin of the name Scotland is uncertain. Most likely it was introduced by the Greeks and Romans. It may be derived from the Greek word Scotos, a term applied to the Gaels (Celtic tribe). Or from the Latin word Sco(t)ti, which means “dark”, referring to the foggy climate. By the end of the 11th century the Late Latin word Scotia (land of the Scots) was being used to refer to (Gaelic-speaking) Scotland north of the river Forth. Caledonia is also an old Latin name for Scotland, referring tot the Caledonii tribes. It is possibly based on a Brythonic word for “hard” or “tough” (represented by the modern Welsh caled). Being part of the British Isles, Scotland was already described by Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. The first (printed) separate maps of Scotland appeared in the 16th century.

Ireland in 48 historical maps: 150AD-2018 (142 pages). The name Ireland is derived from the Celtic word Eire, meaning “the fertile place”. On ancient (world) maps the Latin name Hibernia or Ibernia (later Irlandia) was used, which refers to the wintry or cold climate of this remote place. Ireland was already described by Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. Being part of the British Isles, Ireland is also depicted on the Mappa Mundi in medieval times. The coastline was drawn in more detail on 15th century Portolan charts (nautical maps). The first (printed) separate maps of Ireland appeared in the 16th century.

The United Kingdom in 49 historical maps: 150AD-2018 (144 pages). The UK is a self-descriptive short-form name for “United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland”. * The name Great Britain or Larger Britain, from Mediaeval Latin Britannia Maior, was first recorded by Geoffrey of Monmouth, who used it to distinguish the island from Britannia Minor (Little Britain) or Brittany in modern France. In classical times, Ptolemy also called the island Megale Brettania, in contrast to the smaller island of Ireland, which he called Mikra Brettania (Little Britain). The name Britain (or Latin name Britannia) most likely originates - via French or Welsh (Prydain) - from pretani, meaning the “painted ones”. It refers to the use of body-paint and tattoos by early inhabitants of the islands. It may also be derived from the Celtic goddess Brigid. The British Isles were already described by Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. The first (printed) separate maps appeared in the 16th century. *Before the independence of Ireland in 1916, the UK comprised present-day England (plus Wales), Scotland, Northern-Ireland and the Republic of Ireland. The term British Isles is still used to identify these 5 entities.

In classical Greek mythology, Europe (Europa) is the name of either a queen of Crete or Phoenician princess. It means “wide-gazing” or “broad of aspect”. Europe was already described by classical Greek scholars; e.g. Ptolemy in his Geographia (150AD). The accompanying maps were worked out again by European cartographers at the end of the 15th century. It is also depicted on the T-O based Mappa Mundi of the middle ages, being one of the 3 then known ‘old’ continents (besides Asia and Africa). The first (printed) separate maps of Europe appeared in the early 16th century. Numerous maps made by famous cartographers would follow: e.g. Gastaldi (Italy), Mercator (Belgium), Speed (England), Sanson (France), Blaeu (Netherlands) and Homann (Germany).

This world atlas comprises 50 carefully selected world maps plus a description of their makers. Furthermore it includes a comprehensive insight in the history of cartography and how and why maps are/were made. The e-atlas shows how the world has changed through time and how map making techniques have evolved. Each era is represented by a number of maps drawn by the most famous (European) cartographers of their time. From early classical & medieval maps, via maps of 16th/17th century atlases (Golden Age of Cartography), to contemporary computer-generated images. Besides this world atlas, e-atlases of the 6 continents and separate e-atlases of more than 50 countries, distributed all over the world, are currently available. The provided e-atlases are not meant to replace the traditional printed atlases but are an addition and offer extra functionality (e.g. zooming in on geographic features). They can be downloaded as PDF-files; the files can be viewed using Acrobat Reader (version 10 or higher) and compatible applications. Each historical e-atlas is composed of 4 sections. The first 3 sections describe the history of cartography and map making techniques in general. In the 4th or major section (Country maps and their Makers) the history of a specific country is visualized via a range of maps from important mapmakers in different era’s. The document is made up of duo pages; the right page displays the map of a given period, the left page contains text describing its creator and other details. Each atlas also includes an Appendix which contains a selection of common Latin terms that are used on ancient maps. The historical e-atlases are suitable for reading and presentation purposes (in classrooms). The maps and their descriptions can be studied and printed at home or school. The main group of potential users are teachers and students in geography and history. Moreover, the atlases are useful to anyone who is interested in old maps of his/hers native or ancestors country. For more (background) information please refer to the author’s Blogspot: https://tomaps20.blogspot.com/