This e-Atlas shows a series of (100) curious maps which have been made through the history of cartography. From early classical maps to contemporary computer images. Mostly they were the result of the (lack of) information available to the author drawing the map. In the past the only source for cartographers was oral and written information from merchants, seamen, explorers etc. Copying maps of (foreign) colleague cartographers, including their errors, was very common. This atlas is not just a visual tour showing the history of mapping; it also marks the most important discoveries and the advancement in technology of mankind. From inventions and applications such as the magnetic compass and the printing press to modern mapping techniques like satellite remote sensing. PART IV – the main part - contains a selection of remarkable maps and a description of their contents and makers. It starts with the earliest survived maps. The maps are not only characterized by their content based on newly available information. The cartographic drawing style has also evolved through time: from early manuscript and woodcut drawings via (copper) engravings to modern printing techniques. The timeline follows the (European) history of cartography. The maps (Part IV) are grouped according to their characteristics. From the very first hand-drawn world maps, via 16th/17th century atlas maps (Golden Age of Cartography), to contemporary computer-generated (thematic) images. Within a group they are arranged chronologically. Most of the earliest maps are in the classic Latin language, most ‘modern’ maps are in the English language.

Ukraine in 40 historical maps: 1480-2020 (124 pages) NOTE: This atlas of Ukraine is free. Instead, you can of course always support the Red Cross in Ukraine with a donation. Thank you.

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.

Madagascar in 35 historical maps: 1502-2018 (116 pages). The name Madagascar was given by Portuguese explorers in the early 16th century. It is derived from Madageiscar, a corruption of Mogadishu, popularized by Marco Polo. In the 17th century various names were used by other European explorers and mapmakers. For example S.Laurentii (Latin) by the Dutch, Saint Laurence by the British and Isle Dauphine by the French. After being discovered by the Portuguese explorer Diaz the large island appeared on the world maps from about 1500 onwards. The first separately printed maps were made in the midst of the 16th century.

Luxemburg in 35 historical maps: 1571-2018 (116 pages). The name Luxemburg (French: Luxembourg) – for both the Country and its Capital City – comes from Celtic Lucilem (meaning “small” or “little”) and Germanic burg (meaning “castle”). Its origin goes back to 963, when Siegfried (of the House of Ardennes), the Abbot of St. Maximin at Trier, got the local castle into possession. From here the successive counts of Luxemburg extended their area. In the 16th/17th century, Luxemburg became a Principality of the Low Countries, and included the present Grand Duchy of Luxembourg, the current Belgian province of Luxembourg and a number of neighbouring areas in France and Germany. The first separately printed maps of Luxemburg appeared at the end of the 16th century. Most of them were made by established cartographers from the Low Countries: e.g. Ortelius, Mercator and Blaeu.

Surinam in 35 historical maps: 1522-2018 (116 pages) The name Surinam comes from Surinen people, the earliest known native American inhabitants of the region. From 1667 till 1975 the country was a colony of The Netherlands. It had been governed by the WIC (West Indies Company), the counterpart of the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company). On some antique maps the name Dutch Guyana is used to identify the colony/country and distinguish it from the neighbouring areas British Guyana (to the West) and French Guyana (to the East). Maps of the south-American region Guyana already appeared at the end of the 16th century. Separate (printed) maps of Surinam, mostly made by Dutch cartographers in service of the WIC, appeared in the early 18th century.

The Netherlands and Belgium in 44 historical maps: 1480-2018 (136 pages). The general name Low Countries is often used for the region covering both The Netherlands and Belgium. The name Netherlands (Dutch: Nederland ) is used for the northern country. It means “low lying lands”. The name Holland (Latin: Hollandia), covering the provinces Noord- and Zuid-Holland, is sometimes used to identify the whole country. It is probably derived from the Germanic word holt-land (“wooded land”) or it may refer to “hollow” or “marsh land”. The name Belgium, for the southern country, came into use after their independence from the United Netherlands in 1830. The name refers to “Land of the Belgae”, a Celtic tribe in he Roman province of Gallia Belgica (Belgic Gaul). The name’s origin is uncertain, but it may be derived from the Proto-Indo-European word bhelgh-, meaning “to bulge” or “to swell”. An alternative theory suggests that it means “bright”. On early maps, the name for the province of Flanders (Latin: Flandria) was also used to identify the whole country. The first printed separate maps of the Low Countries appeared in the midst of the 16th century. In the following period the Latin name Germania Inferior was often used to identify this region, e.g. in Ortelius famous world atlas (1570).

Morocco in 36 historical maps: 1154-2018 (118 pages). The name Morocco most likely comes from a Berber phrase, meaning the “Land of God”. The Arabic name Al-Maghrib (English: Maghreb) refers to the northwestern part of Africa, not Morocco in particular. The first separate (printed) maps of Morocco appeared in the late 16th century. It was then divided into 2 kingdoms: The kingdom of Fez (Northern part) and the kingdom of Marocco (Southern part). The city Rabat was established as a fortress in 1150 near the former Roman settlement Sala Colonia (Chella). In 1959 it became the capital of an independent Morocco, after being a protectorate from France.

Malta in 37 historical maps: 1480-2018 (120 pages). The name Malta is either from Greek or Phoenician origin. The presence of the Greek dates back to 700BC when they called the island Melita, which refers to “(land of) honey”. The name was also used by the Romans during their domination of the island. The alternative Phoenician theory refers to the word Maleth, meaning “a haven”. The name Melita is used on the earliest maps, the name Malta on modern maps. On 17th century maps both names were often applied. The island already appears as a small (green) spot on regional maps of Ptolemy (c.150AD/c.1480). The first (printed) separate maps of Malta (in black & white) were published in the early 16th century. Numerous maps (on a larger scale) would follow during the 17th century, including the beautiful coloured maps of the Dutch Blaeu firm.

The Pacific Ocean in 38 historical maps: 1527-2018 (120 pages) The (eastern) Pacific was first sighted by Europeans in the early 16th century when Spanish explorer Vasco Núñez de Balboa crossed the Isthmus of Panama in 1513 and discovered the great “southern sea” which he named Mar del Sur (in Spanish). But it was Portuguese navigator Ferdinand Magellan who gave this largest ocean in 1521 its current name: Mare Pacifico (Pacific Ocean). The name was chosen because of the apparent stillness of the sea. Magellan was the first explorer who circumnavigated the globe and charted the real extension of the Pacific Ocean. The world map of Diego Ribero (1527) was the first map showing the vastness of the Pacific Ocean. The first printed separate maps of the Pacific Ocean appeared at the end of the 16th century. Numerous maps followed in the 17th century, most of them made by Dutch cartographers in service of the VOC (Dutch East Indies Company).

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.

Austria in 41 historical maps: 1513-2018 (128 pages). Austria (German Österreich) means “Eastern March”. In Medieval times it was named in Latin: Marchia Orientalis. It is a former eastern prefecture of the Duchy of Bavaria, established in 976. The borders of Austria would change numerous times in the course of history, as shown on the maps in this atlas. In ca. 1560 the first separately printed map was published by the Hungarian cartographer Lazius. His map was used by famous cartographers, among them: Ortelius, Mercator and the Blaeu family.

Japan in 41 historical maps: 1507-2018 (128 pages). The official name of Japan is Nippon (or Nihon) meaning the “Land of the Rising Sun”. This name comes from Imperial correspondence with the Chinese Sui Dynasty and refers to Japan’s eastward position relative to China. The old Malay word for Japan, Jepang (modern spelling Jepun), was borrowed from a Chinese language. On the first separately printed map of Japan (Teixeira/Ortelius, 1595) the Latinized name Iaponia appeared. Various other names for Japan were used on earlier maps. On some 16th century (world) maps, based on Ptolemy’s ideas, the name Zipangri was used. The famous large wall map of Waldseemuller (1507) is one of the first world maps on which the island of Japan is clearly depicted. It appears at the upper right corner of the map.

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.

Greenland in 42 historical maps: 1554-2018 (130 pages) The name of this largest island (country) was given by early Norse settlers. In the Icelandic sagas, the Norwegian-born Icelander Erik the Red was said to be exiled from Iceland for manslaughter. Along with his extended family and his serfs, he set out in ships to explore an icy land known to lie to the northwest. After finding a habitable area and settling there, he named it Grœnland (Greenland), supposedly in the hope that the pleasant name would attract settlers. The name of the country in the indigenous Greenlandic language is Kalaallit Nunaat (“Land of the Kalaallit”). The Kalaallit are the indigenous Greenlandic Inuit people who inhabit the country’s western region. The first separate maps of the island/country already appeared at the end of the 16th century. However, parts of its coastline (especially to the North) weren’t based on true observations but purely fictionally drawn. It would last until the end of the 19th century before the complete coastline was actually charted.

Iceland in 42 historical maps: 1528-2018 (130 pages). Iceland means “Land of Ice”. The Old Norse name is Ísland. On early maps the Latin name Islandia is mostly used. Iceland is clearly depicted on the famous map of Scandinavia (1539) made by Olaus Magnus. The first separately printed map of the country appeared a few years later. The first full colour map was published by Ortelius in 1590. In the course of history numerous native cartographers turned up and produced a string of great maps of the country. E.g. Gudbrandur Thorlaksson (c.1590), Thordur Thorlaksson (1668), Eiriksson (1780), Gunnlaugsson (1849) and Thoroddsen (1900).

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.

Poland in 42 historical maps: 1513-2018 (130 pages). The name Poland means “Land of Polans”. It refers to an ancient tribe occupying the territory. Most likely it is derived from the Polish word pole, which means “(open) field”. When the Polans formed a united Poland (Polska) in the 10th century, this name also came into use for the whole Polish country. On Cresques famous map of Europe (Catalan atlas, 1375) the Latin name Polonia is used. During the next centuries this Latin name was mostly used by established cartographers such as Munster, Ortelius, Mercator and Blaeu. Munster’s map (ca. 1540) was one of the first separately printed maps of the country. The map was based on earlier work of Bernard Wapowski (ca. 1526), being the ‘father of Polish cartography’.

Indonesia, Philippines and Malaysia in 42 historical maps: 1522-2018 (132 pages). Indonesia is a former Dutch colony. Its name came into use after their independence in 1945. The name means Indian Islands. Before that the name Nederlands Oost-Indië (Dutch East Indies or short East Indies) was used on maps. Malaysia is a former British colony. The name is a combination of two Tamil/Sanskrit words meaning “hilltown”. The name came into use when several Indian Kingdoms entered present-day Malaysia dating back to the 3rd century. The Latin suffix ‘–sia’ was later added. The Philippines are a former Spanish colony. The name refers to King Philip II of Spain. The name appeared for the first time on maps at the end of the 16th century. The first separately printed maps of both groups of islands were published in the early 16th century by Italian cartographers. More detailed maps were made in the midst of the 17th century by Dutch explorers and mapmakers (VOC).

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.