1847 Lowry / Sharpe Map of the Black Sea Region

This is J. Sharpe's 1847 map of the Black Sea region issued for Sharpe's Corresponding Atlas. It presents 'The Eastern Question', reflecting political tensions related to ongoing wars between the Ottoman and Russian empires.

A Closer Look

Coverage embraces from central Ukraine to Anatolia and from the eastern Balkans to the Caucasus. The map focuses on the Black Sea, noting coastal features (capes, gulfs, islands) along with cities, roads, waterways, areas of elevation, and administrative divisions. Scales in English miles and Russian versts are provided. The map's title refers to the ancient Greek name for the Black Sea.

Historical Context

Most of the land seen here had been under the indirect control of the Ottoman Empire, through vassals like the Crimean Khanate and Principality of Moldavia, until the late 18th century. But after a string of wars with European neighbors, especially the Russian Empire, with whom the Ottomans were at war almost continuously from the late 17th through the mid-19th century, Turkish influence declined and Russian influence, if not outright control, increased. In the years preceding this map's publication, the Principality of Moldavia was divided in two, with the eastern half annexed by Russia as Bessarabia (in 1812). In 1828-1829, Russia annexed further territory in the Caucasus and in the Danube River Delta, while Moldavia and Wallachia became protectorates of the Tsar's government, though here they continue to be labeled as 'Turkey'. (Serbia and Greece had also become independent of Ottoman rule in the meantime.) The continued difficulties of the Ottomans and the expansionism of the Russian Empire was a major diplomatic and geopolitical conundrum in 19th century Europe, known simply as the 'Eastern Question,' and was a major contributing factor to the Crimean War (1853 - 1856), which began within a decade of this map's publication.

Publication History and Census

This map was engraved by Joseph Wilson Lowry and appeared in Sharpe's Corresponding Atlas, published by Chapman and Hall, best known as publishers of atlases by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge.