1812 Pinkerton Mercator Projection Map of the World in 2 Sheets

This is John Pinkerton's 1812 map of the world on Mercator's projection, here in two folio sheets.

Western Sheet

The western sheet covers North and South America, Greenland, parts of Polynesia, and the western parts of Africa and Europe - including England and Spain. In North America, it represents the situation at the beginning of the War of 1812 (1812 - 1815). The United States is limited to that territory east of the Mississippi and north of Florida. Despite postdating the 1803 Louisiana Purchase by nearly 10 years, the map does not recognize it. This is more a product of intent than omission. England was then involved in both the Napoleonic Wars (1803 - 1815) and the War of 1812, and thus loathe to accept any agreements between rivals - especially one that might impact its own territorial claims in Canada and British Columbia. Note, here all modern-day Canada and Alaska, as well as California north of San Francisco Bay, are identified as British. The topography of the North America west of Santa Fe, particularly the Rocky Mountains (Topian Mountains) and Sierra Nevada, owes a debt to Humboldt.

In South America there is little evidence of the wars of independence then raging throughout the continent - instead presenting Spanish and Brazilian territories as cohesive blocks. Nonetheless, Simón Bolívar, in a series of ongoing wars, was attempting to liberate and consolidate modern-day Venezuela, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Bolivia, but was suffering nonstop setbacks, including the 1812 fall of the First Republic of Venezuela. In Argentina, the 1810 May Revolution liberated Buenos Aires, and in 1812, the revolutionaries were organizing military campaigns to spread independence to other parts of the Viceroyalty of the Río de la Plata. Similarly, Chile began its own struggles for independence in 1810, but by 1812, infighting among revolutionary factions stymied progress. Brazil, on the other hand, remained solidly a colony of Portugal, with the royal family, fleeing Napoleon, relocating there in 1808, making Brazil, in essence, the center of an empire in exile.

Eastern Sheet

The eastern sheet offers coverage of most of Europe, Asia, the bulk of Africa, Australia, and Polynesia. In Europe, the Napoleonic Wars were nearing their zenith. Africa is mostly unexplored, but maintains speculative geography, including the supposed 'Mountains of the Moon' (likely reflecting indigenous reports of the Rwenzoris Mountains) and the Mountains of Kong (courtesy of Scottish explorer Mungo Park). Lake Malawi is recognizable and correctly located, although the image suggests a supposed connection with then speculative Lake Tanganyika. In India we can see the effective British cartographic efforts of James Rennell and others. Australia remains 'New Holland', although the still-young British colony of New South Wales is identified. Much of the western and southern parts nonetheless still rely on the geography of Dampier, Vancouver, and Cook. Both maps highlight the important maritime explorers of the latter 19th century, among them Cook and Vancouver.

Publication History and Census

These maps were drafted by Lewis Hebert and engraved by Samuel John Neele in 1812 for issue in the 1815 first edition of John Pinkerton's A Modern Atlas. Both the maps and atlas are well represented institutionally but increasingly scarce on the market.