Georg Glockendon painted it by hand across twelve gores and two polar caps. The David Rumsey Map Collection has the map, which I animated using Map to Globe.

The Americas? Not there. Trace your finger west from Portugal across the Atlantic and the next land you hit is Japan (Europeans called it Cipangu then). There’s no Pacific as its own ocean. The Atlantic just continues into Asian waters.

The original globe still sits in Nuremberg. Most people study E.G. Ravenstein’s 1908 facsimile instead. Ravenstein compared the original with an 1847 copy to make his reproduction, which gives us the best version to work with today.

Behaim’s measurements put Earth at 29,000 kilometers (18,000 miles) around. The actual equator measures 40,075 km (24,901 mi). This globe shrinks the planet by 27%. That’s an 11,000 km (6,800 mi) mistake. To put it in perspective, New York to Tokyo is about the same distance.

That smaller Earth changed how Europeans thought about ocean crossings. The Atlantic looked manageable for ships in the late 1400s. Asia appeared to sit about where the Caribbean actually is. Running the numbers on food, water, and sailing time made westward trade routes look reasonable.

Columbus worked with even more optimistic numbers than these. Behaim’s globe shows us where European understanding of geography sat right before ships headed west and ran into continents nobody expected to find.

Ptolemy got the circumference wrong originally. Marco Polo’s travel times made Asia seem to extend further east. These mistakes didn’t just add together. They backed each other up until Europeans had built a complete picture of the world that looked logical while missing two continents and calculating the planet more than a quarter too small.

If you’re looking for a globe, here are some options on Amazon:

• Replogle Illuminated World Globe – Political boundaries, lights up
• National Geographic Executive Globe – Topographic relief
• Waypoint Geographic Constellation Globe – Geography and star maps

The post The World’s Oldest Globe: Made in 1492 Without the Americas appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Edward Quin and W. Hughes published a historical atlas in 1856 that tracks this precisely. Each map shows geographical knowledge at a specific moment in history, starting from 2348 BC (the Biblical Deluge, since this atlas was made for a Christian European audience) and running through to Napoleon’s empire in 1811. The complete atlas is at the David Rumsey Map Collection.

TABLE

In 1491 BC, during the Exodus, Western civilization’s geographical knowledge covered the Mediterranean basin, the Near East, and Egypt. That was about it. The Americas weren’t on anyone’s map. Australia and sub-Saharan Africa were completely unknown.

Alexander conquered from Greece to India by 323 BC. His empire was massive. But two entire continents across the Atlantic Ocean? Nobody in his world knew they existed. Rome’s territory went from Britain all the way to Mesopotamia. North and South America though? Not on Roman maps. Romans had no concept these continents existed.

Napoleon controlled most of Europe by 1811. Explorers had been to the Americas by then. They’d mapped the coasts of Africa and Australia. Cook had charted the Pacific. Antarctica though? Still undiscovered. Nobody knew it was there. Much of the Arctic was also unmapped at this point.

This was only 213 years ago. Thousands of years of human exploration, and we still hadn’t filled in all the continents.

Today our maps feel complete. Satellites have pretty much photographed every bit of land in stunning detail. Still, you stop and think and it hits you how much is left unknown. The ocean floor has high-resolution maps for only about a quarter of its area, and that’s the majority of the planet right there. We’re always coming across new species in ecosystems we hardly ever reach. Even the ground under us is as big a blank spot as Africa’s interior was back in Napoleon’s day.

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What made the Geographia different was Ptolemy’s use of coordinates. He gathered information from earlier sources, travelers, and maps, and then recorded the latitude and longitude of about 8,000 places across Europe, Asia, and Africa. Latitude was often estimated from the sun’s height or the length of the day, while longitude was much harder, usually inferred from reported travel distances. His system wasn’t exact by modern standards, but it was groundbreaking: a way to describe the world mathematically, almost like an early geographic information system.

The map above, created by Reddit user chillchamp, plots Ptolemy’s European locations (The text of Geographia along with the coordinates, is available through ToposText / Greek text is here). Each dot represents a place from the work, positioned using his original coordinates. The colors form a gradient: blue for places mentioned earlier in the book, shifting to red for those listed later.

Ptolemy’s project wasn’t just about describing places – he also explained how to draw maps from his coordinates. His work covered the “habitable world” as it was known around 150 CE, stretching from the Shetland Isles to China. Forgotten in Europe for centuries, the text resurfaced in the Middle Ages and went on to shape cartography for generations.

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At the time, Japan had already seized Manchuria in 1931 and invaded China in 1937, establishing control over many of its coastal cities. Meanwhile, the Soviet Union too had strategic interests in Xinjiang, Mongolia, and Tibet. Burke suggested on his map that both powers would sign a non-aggression pact and divide China between themselves, as with the 1939 Molotov-Ribbentrop Pact dividing Eastern Europe between Germany and the USSR.

The map illustrates huge tracts of China divided into spheres of influence. The legend comments that China, being so large and diverse, would be “impossible to conquer outright” by any single power, suggesting that division into puppet states would be the only possible scenario.

What Actually Occurred

Actually, Japan and the Soviet Union never conspired to divide China jointly. In fact, they were bitter enemies. Just a year before Burke’s map, they had clashed intensely in the undeclared Soviet-Japanese border war of 1939, particularly in the Battle of Khalkhin Gol. That defeat cooled Japanese aspirations to the north and led Tokyo to turn southward instead.

As World War II raged on, Japan continued its brutal occupation of parts of China but ultimately lost the war in 1945 after the atomic bombing of Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The Soviet Union entered the Pacific war in its final weeks, invading Manchuria and helping to drive out the Japanese military, but did not remain as a long-term occupying power in China.

Instead, China plunged into civil war between the Nationalists and Communists. By 1949, the Communist Party led by Mao Zedong had established the People’s Republic of China, and the Nationalists had retreated to Taiwan. The feared Soviet-Japanese alliance over China never materialized.

A Future No One Predicted

And whereas Burke’s 1940 map pictured China sliced and diced by outside powers, reality had other plans. The Soviet superpower disintegrated in 1991 and ceased to be a force that dominated the rest of the world. Instead, it left behind a much weakened Russia—a nuclear-armed country, but not one with world hegemony any longer.

Meanwhile, China developed from a war-shattered nation into an economic and geopolitical behemoth. It is now largely considered to be the world’s second superpower, after the United States. Ironically, modern China wields intense influence over most of the ex-Soviet nations through commerce, infrastructure investments (e.g., the Belt and Road Initiative), and regional diplomacy.

Burke’s speculative vision never came to pass. The real story of China, Japan, and Russia followed a path no map could fully chart in 1940.

The post “Japan and Russia Will Divide China” (1940 Propaganda Map) appeared first on Vivid Maps.

This educational map depicted arrows radiating from Germany to various parts of the world, suggesting that ancient civilizations were founded by Germanic peoples. Such visuals were crafted to reinforce the Nazi ideology of Aryan supremacy and to legitimize their expansionist ambitions.

The claims presented in this map were not grounded in credible scientific research. Nazi institutions, like the Ahnenerbe, an elite Nazi research institute founded by Heinrich Himmler in 1935, were notorious for distorting history and archaeology to support their racial theories. Their so-called “research” was driven by ideology rather than empirical evidence, leading to conclusions that have been thoroughly debunked by modern scholars.

Indoctrination Through Education

Maps like this were integral to the Nazi education system, serving as tools for indoctrination. By presenting these ideas in educational materials, the regime aimed to instill a sense of historical destiny and racial superiority in German youth. This form of propaganda was crucial in garnering public support for the regime’s policies, including territorial expansion and the marginalization of non-Aryan peoples.

Today, this map serves as a clear reminder of how education can be manipulated for harmful purposes. It underscores the importance of critical thinking and the need to question narratives that lack empirical support. By examining such artifacts, we can better understand the mechanisms of propaganda and the dangers of allowing ideology to override scientific integrity.

The post Nazi School Map: How Nazis Claimed Germany as the Source of Civilization appeared first on Vivid Maps.

The 1957 edition of The Times Atlas features a distinctive political map by John Ian Bartholomew that made an unconventional choice – centering the world on the Atlantic Ocean. Using the Transverse Oblique Homolographic Equal-Area projection, the map was designed to highlight the countries of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO).

This projection choice served a clear purpose during the Cold War era. By focusing on the Atlantic region, the map emphasizes the strategic connections between North American and European NATO members. The color scheme reinforces this focus, dividing the world into Western Allies (purple), Communist states (orange), and Arab-Muslim lands (green).

The map’s detailed legend documents four pivotal military alliances. NATO, established in 1949, initially united twelve Western nations, later expanding to include Greece, Turkey, and West Germany. SEATO (1954) connected eight nations across Southeast Asia and the Pacific. The Baghdad Pact of 1955 joined Iraq, Turkey, the UK, Pakistan, and Iran. In response, the Warsaw Pact united eight Communist states under Soviet leadership.

For readers interested in modern cartography, several current world atlases are available on Amazon:

• The Times Comprehensive Atlas of the World (Amazon affiliate link)
• Oxford Atlas of the World (Amazon affiliate link)
• National Geographic Atlas of the World (Amazon affiliate link)

What other historical maps have you seen that reveal political perspectives of their time? Share below.

The post The 1957 Times Atlas Map: A Strategic View of Cold War Alliances appeared first on Vivid Maps.

Take a look at this fascinating artifact from 1822. What you’re seeing is “Travellers’ Tour Through the United States,” widely considered being the first American-made board game. Unlike the property-trading frenzy of Monopoly, this game had a nobler aim – to educate players about the young nation’s geography and culture.

The game’s centerpiece is a beautifully detailed map of the eastern United States. Keep in mind, this was created just a year after Missouri became the 24th state. The western frontier was still a vast, largely uncharted territory to most Americans. This United States map wasn’t just a game board – it was a window into a country still discovering itself.

Players started their journey in Washington D.C. and made their way to New Orleans, using a “teetotum” (a spinning top that functioned like a die) to determine their moves. Landing on a city, they’d have to name it correctly to stay put. For an extra challenge, some versions even asked players to guess the city’s population!

But “Travellers’ Tour” wasn’t just about memorizing place names. The right side of the board featured detailed descriptions of each location. Philadelphia boasted “numerous and respectable” educational institutions. Charleston was praised for its citizens’ “polished manners and unaffected hospitality.” These snippets paint a vivid picture of how early 19th-century Americans viewed their nation.

It’s tempting to compare these descriptions to Alexis de Tocqueville‘s famous observations of American society. But remember – this game predates de Tocqueville’s visit by nearly a decade. In a way, “Travellers’ Tour” captures an even earlier snapshot of the American self-image.

While it may not have achieved Monopoly-level fame, this pioneering board game tapped into something powerful – Americans’ desire to understand their sprawling, diverse nation. You could argue that the spirit of “Travellers’ Tour” lives on in the great American road trip tradition.

Today’s board game enthusiasts can still capture some of that map-exploring excitement. Modern games like “Ticket to Ride” challenge players to build rail routes across North America. “Scrambled States of America” puts a whimsical spin on U.S. geography. And for those who love a good trivia challenge, “50 States” tests your knowledge of state capitals, landmarks, and more.

These games might have flashier components than their 1822 predecessor, but they share a common thread – the joy of discovery and the fun of learning about the places that make up this vast, varied country.

So the next time you’re plotting your Monopoly strategy or planning a cross-country adventure, spare a thought for “Travellers’ Tour Through the United States.” This unassuming board game, with its carefully drawn United States map, didn’t just entertain – it helped shape how a young nation saw itself.

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Rivers

According to James Reynolds’ map, the Mississippi River is the longest in the world, coming in at 3,650 miles (5,874 km), followed by the Amazon, the Nile, and the Yangtze River. The three rivers with the lowest length are the Tay in Scotland (125 miles or 125 km), the Shannon in Ireland (200 miles or 322 km), and the Potomac in the United States (275 miles or 443 km).

Since 1850, surveying methods have evolved, and we now have satellites, GPS, and lasers to update rankings. According to the Central Intelligence Agency’s World Factbook, the Nile (4,132 miles or 6,650 km), the Amazon (3,998 miles or 6,436 km), and the Yangtze River (3,915 miles or 6,300 km) are the longest rivers on our planet.

The table demonstrates a comparison of the rivers in the map with current measurements and the general location of rivers using 1850 location names (including modern-day locations in brackets).

Lakes

In this infographic, the Caspian Sea (118,000 sq miles or 305,619 sq km) is the largest lake, followed by the Black Sea (113,000 sq. miles or 292,669 sq km), and Lake Superior (22,400 sq miles or 58,016 sq km), the largest of the Great Lakes.

The modern surface areas of many lakes also changed a lot, because of climate change, unsustainable (called Chad/Ichad, the Aral Sea, the Dead Sea.

Do you like vintage and ancient maps? Then have a look at the following world maps:

• Ancient Map of the World
• Map of the World (Orbis Terrarum)

If you liked this map, we recommend you pay attention to another similar visualization comparing rivers and mountains.

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In a sense, we are living in the dream of Fra Mauro, the Venetian cartographer-monk from the late Middle Ages who crafted the most objective and detailed world map of his time. Fra Mauro’s early life as a soldier and merchant in the renowned Venice Merchant Fleet sparked his interest in mapping. He eventually settled in the monastery of San Michele on the island of Murano in the Venice Lagoon, where he became a lay brother. In the early 1450s, he was authorized by King Afonso V of Portugal to create a map of the world.

Fra Mauro’s map was a testament to Portugal’s ambition to dominate world trade, which necessitated the most detailed maps possible. His map also reflected his own determination to gather information about every corner of the Earth, no matter how remote. Remarkably, he accomplished this without ever leaving Venice. Arab traders and world explorers passing through the port provided him with a wealth of information about the world. The fall of Constantinople a few years before the map was completed further enriched his knowledge, as well-traveled refugees likely shared their stories with him. The creation of Fra Mauro’s map was a collaborative effort, and its contents were gathered through a process akin to fifteenth-century crowdsourcing.

This chapter in cartographical history invites parallels with modern technology. Despite his affiliation with the monastery of San Michele, Fra Mauro’s map was a radical departure from traditional religious cartography. He did not place Jerusalem at the center, and he relegated the Garden of Eden to a side box, unattached to any specific geographical location.

His meticulousness led him to be the first cartographer to depict Japan as an island and to show that one could sail all the way around Africa. While his map was the most accurate of its time, its over 3,000 annotations included many tall tales, often involving literal giants. Yet, are these tales really less reliable than the average twenty-first-century user review?

If you’re looking to adorn your room’s wall with a Fra Mauro map of the world, we recommend checking out Amazon.

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The map, with an obvious propaganda narrative, has some basic errors that are not fortuitous:

• It shows the Soviet Union in black, as part of the Axis. Even though the map has a small explanatory note that says “If Hitler can crush the Russian Army and set up a puppet government, this will constitute a direct territorial threat to the U.S.”, the Soviet Union had already broken the non-aggression pact with Nazi Germany at the time this was published map (August 1941).
• It shows the United States in red, even though they had not yet officially entered the war. This shows the intention to help the narrative that sought to pressure to intervene in the war on behalf of the allied forces.

The American cartographer uses different colors to group all the powers based on their alignment with the two existing sides:

Red: Territories against the Axis.
Red and yellow bars: Definitely anti-Axis neutrals.
Red with thin black lines: Potentially disruptive elements among Allies.
Yellow: Neutrals – mostly waiting to pick a winner.
Red with thick black lines: Potentially disruptive elements within Axis.
Yellow with black lines: Definitely pro-Axis neutrals.
Black: Axis.

The map contains the following text.

This is a map of a world struggle that will mark a turning point in civilization. The struggle divides the world into two huge camps: those who are for us (in various degrees) and those who are against us (likewise in various degrees). Between these extremes there are the neutrals, some leaning one way, some another. All these gradations are explained in the key on the opposite page.

Several important points regarding this map should be noted. The first is that the entire conflict pivots around the U.S. This is not due merely to the placing of the U.S. in the center of the spread: it lies, rather, in the very nature of the struggle. The U.S. is the pivot (a) because of its geographical position, which is central to the oceans; (b) because of its ideological position, which makes it the hope of all free peoples; and (c) because of its policy of supplying the enemies of the Axis with the materials of war, via the lend-lease lines.

Because the U.S. is pivotal, and because the U.S. has not yet taken military action, the map is political rather than strategical. Yet there are several strategical considerations:

A. The Western Hemisphere lies between the shores of the great land mass of the Eastern Hemisphere. If those shores were controlled by the enemy, the U.S. would find itself in the grip of a gigantic pincers. At present there are two bastions preventing this—and only two. One is Britain, fed by the big lend-lease line from the East Coast. The other is China, fed by a thinner lend-lease line to the Burma Road.

B. The enormous importance of the U.S.S.R. shows up on this map. If Hitler can crush the Russian Army and set up a puppet government, this will constitute a direct territorial threat to the U.S. The thin red line running from San Francisco around the polar cap to Archangel is quite academic as a lend-lease route, but it serves to show how close we are to that theatre of action. Air attack from this quarter is not beyond possibility. And if the Soviet Union were to fall, Hitler would be, mainland to mainland, within fifty-seven miles of U.S. territory across the Bering Strait.

As a result of its pivotal position the U.S. is fighting the war all over the world. It is intimately interested in the affairs of almost every nation outside the black area of the Axis. The lend-lease lines show the lines of major involvement, but there are also such problems as Eire, India, and the Union of South Africa. If Hitler won the Irish Government to his side the repercussions in the U.S. would be tremendous. The Union of South Africa is really on our side, but internally divided. And India, which Hitler may be able to reach through the U.S.S.R., wants freedom now. Finally, there is Latin America. We have sought in many ways to bind the Latin-Ameri-can countries to our cause—by dollar loans, by military missions, and by education and propaganda. The results so far have been anything but satisfactory.

Such is the world we face. Largely, it is the result of our own failure to be realistic in the past. Now we have to fix it. And our first move had better be to become realistic for the future.

Richard Edes Harrison

To learn more about the Second World War, have a look at the following atlases:

• World War II Map by Map
• The Second World Wars: How the First Global Conflict Was Fought and Won
• Atlas of World War 2: History’s Greatest Conflict Disclosed Through Rare Wartime Maps and New Cartograph

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