1710 Homann Map of Iberia (Spain and Portugal), War of the Spanish Succession

An example of Johann Baptist Homann's c. 1710 map of Spain and Portugal, which appeared in his Neuer Atlas. The map, and particularly the powerful illustrations at the bottom-right, refer to the ongoing War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714), a major crisis dividing Europe at the time.

A Closer Look

Geographic coverage ranges from southern France to northern Africa (Morocco and Algeria), taking in Iberia and the Balearic Islands (exaggerated somewhat in size, as is the minuscule Alborán Island). The constituent kingdoms and territories of the Spanish Empire are outlined and color-shaded for easy distinction. Cities and towns, roads, mountains, waterways, and coastal features are documented with Homann's characteristic fastidiousness. Battleships and other striking illustrations appear at the bottom right, referencing the War of the Spanish Succession. Though perhaps not clear from the illustration itself, the text under the title makes clear that the troops are being dispatched across the sea by the Archduke and future Holy Roman Emperor Charles III (1685 - 1740, though known to history as Charles IV, at the time, at least among his supporters, he was known as Charles III, his being the intended Habsburg successor to the recently-deceased Charles II).

The War of the Spanish Succession (1701 - 1714)

The War of the Spanish Succession began in 1700 when childless Spanish Habsburg King Charles II died. Rival claimants vied for the vacant throne, with the young Bourbon, Philip of Anjou (grandson of Louis XIV of France), proclaimed King of Spain on November 1, 1700. Philip's ascension threatened the balance of power in Europe, as he was also likely to become king of France, potentially unifying Europe's powerful Catholic kingdoms. As a result, the Habsburg Archduke Charles, who also had a claim to the Spanish crown, gained support from European powers wary of a Spanish-French union. Bourbon and Habsburg-aligned forces engaged in a epic drawn-out conflict across much of western Europe and the New World (Queen Anne's War). The war saw alliances shift, especially when the Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I died in 1711 and was succeeded by Archduke Charles, presenting a new Habsburg threat of a European superpower. In the Peace of Utrecht, signed in 1713, Philip was granted the Spanish crown but renounced claimes to the French throne, while Charles remained the Holy Roman Emperor. The Bourbon monarchies were weakened by the conflict, losing territory in Italy and Gibraltar to the British, while the Habsburgs gained territory and strengthened their positions in Hungary and the Netherlands. Britain is generally seen as the main beneficiary of the conflict, as it was not badly impacted by the mostly-continental war. With the Dutch suffering both physical and financial costs, the door was open for Britain to become the world's dominant maritime power.

Publication History and Census

This map was prepared by Johann Baptist Homann for the 1710 edition of his Neuer Atlas. Homann produced several distinct maps of Iberia, each in multiple states, in the late 17th and early 18th century, beginning with his engraving of 'Novissima Regnorum Hispaniae et Portugalliae Tabula,' issued by David Funck. The present edition of his Iberia map is the most decorative and dramatic due to the illustrations referring to the ongoing war. After the conflict concluded, the martial references were replaced with pacific ones. After 1720 ('Regnorum Hispaniae et Portugalliae Tabula Generalis'), the entire map was reworked (for comparison, see his 1730 issue, previously sold by us: Hispania-homann-1730). The present example differs from the somewhat more common 'Regnorum Hispaniae et Portugalliae Tabula Generalis' in that it lacks the Regnorum and Tabula Generalis in the title and some other obvious differences in the cartouche and in the latter's addition of German geographic terms. 'Regnorum Hispaniae et Portugalliae Tabula Generalis' (dated c. 1716 by Rumsey) was likely issued after the end of the War of the Spanish Succession as its illustrations are somewhat less militant, replacing the canon and swords at the bottom-right with Spanish and Castilian coats of arms. Complicating matters further, perhaps due to wide general interest in the ongoing conflict, other mapmakers issued maps with the same title ('Hispaniae et Portugalliae regna') and geographic scope, including Nicolas Visscher and Christoph Weigel.

With all that in mind, the OCLC documents physical examples of this rare state of the map at the Bibliothèque nationale de France (which also credits Karl or Carl Remshard as engraver), the Newberry Library (which dates it c. 1720), the Herzogin Anna Amalia Bibliothek, the Sächsische Landesbibliothek - Staats- und Universitätsbibliothek, the Universität Erlangen-Nürnberg, and the Universität Eichstätt-Ingolstadt.