Old Maps, Expeditions and Explorations: MapCarte 343/365: A deliniation of the strata of England and Wales by William Smith, 1815

Sunday, November 27, 2016

MapCarte 343/365: A deliniation of the strata of England and Wales by William Smith, 1815

MapCarte 343/365: A deliniation of the strata of England and Wales by William Smith, 1815
In a world where many seem rather quick to suggest their map is 'the first to show...' it's refreshing to be able to show actual firsts from the world of cartography that exhibit good design. English geologist William Smith is credited as the first to have created a nationwide geological map.

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Abkhazia

My favourite is the story of 19th century 'negotiations' between an up-coming Russia and a declining Ottoman Turkey in which Russia demanded the cession by Ottoman -Turkey of the province of Abkhazia. The Turkish delegates who had been summoned to the Czar's palace had little idea of their empire, where Abkhazia was or how big a loss it would represent to Ottoman Turkey. It's actually 8,600 sq kilometers, or 40% of a Wales for those who prefer more traditional area measurements. However there was a map of Abkhazia hanging on the Czar's palace walls, alongside a similarly-sized map of the palace gardens - no scale to either map, although the latter was probably at a somewhat larger scale. Based on these 2 maps the Ottoman delegation concluded they were ceding an insignificant piece of territory.- Dr Hillary Shaw