Old World Maps

World maps through history.

Al-Idrisi’s world map in an 1154 atlas with Arabia on top:

French Colonial Empire, 1931

Colonial Empire of France in 1931.

 

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Blue - French territories, Red - English territories

published by Fortune Magazine, via

End of the Soviet Union

An infographic visualising the dissolution of the Soviet Union.

 

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Source: The Guardian

Old French Atlas of America

Maps of America by Nicolas Sanson d'Abbeville, 1657. 

 

North America

The Netherlands in the 16th Century

An old german map of the Netherlands, 1559-1600.

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Putzgers, F.W., Historischer Schul-Atlas, Bielefeld, 1929, via The Thirty Years’ War

Europe in the 16th century

An old map of Europe in the 16th century.

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Expansion of Russia

Eastern expansion of Russia and the Soviet Union.

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Extent of German Occupation in World War 2

Europe and the maximum extent of German occupation.

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 Collins Australian Clear School Atlas, Europe.  Published 1940. Overprinted 1945.

Canada, 19th century

Provinces and territories of Canada at the end of the 19th century.

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The World Divided, 1941

The World divided during World War 2 (July 1941).

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The political alignments of the world are here shown, centering geographically around the North Pole but ideologically and economically around the U.S. The classification keyed below is necessarily simplified and does not of course meet all the subtleties of politics and diplomacy - for instance, the peculiar position of Vichy and its colonies. The special case of the U.S.S.R. is acknowledged by a special color. 

The situation is as of July 7, 1941, and is subject to change without notice.

Map made by Richard Edes Harrison, Fortune magazine.

Europe without Germany

A political map of Europe without Germany.

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United States Western Expansion

Map of the western expansion of United States in the 18th and 19th century.

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The map including Florida Cession from Spain (1819), Louisiana Purchase from France (1803), Texas Annexation (1845), Mexican Cession (1848), Gadsden Purchase from Mexico (1853), Oregon Country Annexation from Great Britain (1848) and other territorial gains from 1783 to 1853.

Lower Egypt Map

Map of Lower Egypt and the Nile Delta.

Lower Egypt is the northern-most section of Egypt. It refers to the fertile Nile Delta region, which stretches from the area between Upper Egypt and the Mediterranean Sea — from El-Aiyat south of modern-day Cairo, and Zawyet Dahshur. (Wikipedia)

Austria-Hungary Map

Physical map of Austria-Hungary, 1910.

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Ancient Egypt Map

Map of Ancient Egypt.

 Ancient Egypt was the civilization of the Nile Valley between about 3000 BC and the conquest of Egypt by Alexander the Great in 332 BC. As a civilization based on irrigation it is the quintessential example of an hydraulic empire.

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