Maps of The British Isles
In this collection we will include some of the early maps and sea charts for these islands, many dating back many hundreds of years. Some are colourfully illustrated with cartouches and artistic endeavour. The British Isles have captured the attention of some of the most famous early cartographers from the 1500s and 1600s; they include:
- Mercator 1564
- John Speed
- Pieter van den Keere
- Joan Blaeu
- Alain Mallenson Mallet
Maps of The British Isles
The British Isles
The expression "British Isles" is geographical and not political. They are a group of islands off the northwest coast of Europe consisting of Great Britain, the whole of Ireland, the Orkney and Shetland Islands, the Isle of Man, the Inner and Outer Hebrides, the Isle of Wight, the Scilly Islands, Lundy Island, the Channel Islands and many other smaller islands.
Captain Greenville Collins
Until the late 1600s, British mariners had to depend on the work of Dutch surveyors and cartographers, when navigating in home waters. However, in June 1681, Samuel Pepys, Secretary of the Navy, issued an Admiralty order assigning a naval officer - Captain Greenville Collins - to the task of surveying the British coasts and harbours. With a measuring chain, a compass and a lead line, Collins took seven years to complete the work which was eventually published as Great Britain's Coasting Pilot in 1693. It contained forty eight harbour and coastal charts including the Islands of Orkney.
Throughout the following 200 years many other cartographers including Jon Seller and Thomas Moule added their own depictions of these famous isles.
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