Justus Perthes: Karte des San Juan_ od. Haro Archipels
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Cartographer:
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Justus Perthes
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Title:
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Karte des San Juan_ od. Haro Archipels
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Date:
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1873
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Published:
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Gotha
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Width:
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8 inches / 21 cm
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Height:
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10 inches / 26 cm
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Map ref:
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USA9171
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Description:
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Interesting map showing the results of the arbitration of the German Emperor Wilhelm I in 1871, who ruled that the San Juan Archipelago in the Juan the Fuca Straits near Seattle, belonged to the United States as opposed to British Columbia then administered by the British. The map shows the new border in ochre, with the islands in the same colour, denoting their new status as a possession of the United States. This settled a long standing diplomatic confrontation which was initiated by the United States in 1855 when Washington Territory attempted to tax the possessions of the Hudson’s Bay Company on the islands. Various levels of conflict during the dispute included the curious incident of the Pig War of 1859, so called because thankfully, this confrontation between the Island of Vancouver and Washington Territory, was triggered by the shooting of a pig who also remained the only casualty of the War.
The Geographische Mitteilungen, in which this map was originally published, is the oldest German language geographical journal - its first issue was in 1855 and it finally closed its doors in 2004. The magazine was conceived and edited by August Heinrich Petermann and published by the venerable firm of Justus Perthes in Gotha, Germany.
Its first article reported on an expedition into North Africa and the Sahara by Heinrich Barth and Adolf Overweg. This report was enough to secure a circulation of 4000 for the fledgling magazine and, more importantly, encouraged other important scientist-explorers of the day who were attracted by the magazine’s heavy scientific emphasis to send in their own reports. These included Hans Meyer, the first man to ascend the Kibo crater on Mount Kilimanjaro, Sven Hedin, the Swedish explorer of Central Asia and the Himalayas, and Alfred Wegener, the geoscientist who pioneered the theory of continental shift which led to the modern theory of plate tectonics.
In comparison to its contemporaries, such as the Geographical Journal of the Royal Geographical Society, the Mitteilungen had a far greater interest in ethnography and the physical and natural sciences, leading to the inclusion of many fascinating, but sometimes obscure, maps on the most recent theories related to climatology, meteorology, botany, and zoology.
Printed colour. [USA9171] |