1840 Wyld Map of India and Afghanistan

This is the 1840 edition of James Wyld's map of India. The map reveals the subcontinent at the height of the British East India Company hegemony and in the initial periods of the 'Great Game'.

A Closer Look

The map's superb detail reflects the extent of British East India's control over the vast country, and the great difficulty posed in trying to comprehend the scope of that control. It was clearly intended as an administrative tool to that end, but also to be of utility to British travelers working with the EIC or civil service, and Britisher at home interested in affairs abroad. The map's rich detail is made legible by the imposition of a numbered coordinate grid cross-referenced to lists of military and civil stations in Madras and Bengal as well as 'Collectorates,' the main tax designations employed by the EIC. Military administration is indicated, marking stations of the Bengal Army, Bombay Army, and Madras Army, distinguished from one another with hand color. All three of these armies represented British military power, via the three 'Presidencies' of Bengal, Bombay, and Madras. The armies themselves belonged to the East India Company, until the Government of India Act of 1858, which transferred governance to the Crown. The map itself is superbly executed, largely thanks to the unprecedented scientific precision of the Great Trigonometric Survey of India.

The Great Game

'The Great Game' was a diplomatic confrontation between the British and Russian Empires over Afghanistan and other territories in Central and Southern Asia. The conflict, rooted in long-standing animosity between Russia and Britain, revolved around Afghanistan, which, while lacking significant resources of its own, was strategically situated. For its part, Russia feared Britain was making commercial and military inroads into Central Asia, an area long within the sphere of influence of St. Petersburg. Britain, conversely, feared Russia making gains in India, 'the jewel in the crown' of British Asia. The escalating tensions led to several wars and proxy wars: The First Anglo-Afghan War (1839 - 1842), the First Anglo-Sikh War (1845 - 1846), the Second Anglo-Sikh War (1848 - 1849), and the Second Anglo-Afghan War (1878 - 1880), along with the Russian annexations of Khiva, Bukhara, and Kokand. Then as now, Afghanistan proved a grinding stone upon which the world's great empires diminished themselves, none achieving a definitive victory despite committing staggering resources. The Great Game 'ended' on September 10, 1895 with the signing of the Pamir Boundary Commission Protocols, which stabilized the border between Afghanistan and the Russian Empire - but well into the 20th century the British were well aware the conflict remained. Regarding the attitude of Afghans to the British and to the Russians, the general assumption of the British was that 'Some will fight for us, some against us, but all will fight.'

Publication History and Census

This map was first published in 1837 and stayed in publication for the rest of the century. The initial publication of the map in 1837 pre-dates, by a year, the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838 - 1842), the theater of which falls entirely within its scope. The map was likely initially inspired by Lord Palmerston and John Hobhouse's warnings of a possible Russian invasion of British India through Afghanistan, threatening the EIC's interests in India. The onset of the Anglo-Afghan war in 1839 would have only sharpened public demand. This example, printed and dated 1840, is among the earliest obtainable. OCLC shows only the 1837 issue predating the 1840; only two examples of this state appear, one at Harvard and the other at the University of Edinburgh. 1842 issues appear to be more common due to public demand for up-to-date information about the First Anglo-Afghan War (1838 - 1842).