{"product_id":"old-political-map-of-belgium-and-netherlands-by-mayer-1747-belgian-federation-brussels-amsterdam-antwerp-rotterdam","title":"Old Map of Belgium and Netherlands by Mayer, 1747: Belgian Federation, Brussels, Amsterdam, Antwerp, Rotterdam","description":"\u003cp\u003eBelgii Universi seu Inferioris Germaniae quam XVII Provinciae Austriaco, Gallico et Batavo sceptro parentes constituunt nova Tabula Geographica is a consummate mid‑eighteenth‑century portrait of the Low Countries at a moment of fluid sovereignty and exacting scholarship. Executed in 1747 and bearing an alternate French title discreetly placed above the neatline, the map sweeps from the salt-scalloped shores of Flanders across the Seven United Provinces to the marches beyond the Rhine, while catching the Kentish rim of England across the North Sea. It renders Belgium proper alongside the component states of the Dutch Federation with disarming clarity: color-keyed provinces, crisply engraved borders, and a network of rivers and roaded corridors that resolve the region’s densely peopled landscape into legible political space.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eThe map was drawn by the prodigious Johann Tobias Mayer for the Homann Heirs, the pre‑eminent Nuremberg workshop whose imprint defined eighteenth‑century continental cartography. Mayer—celebrated for a mathematical rigor that later revolutionized nautical astronomy—brought the same empirical exactitude to terrestrial delineation, subordinating ornament to information without relinquishing grace. Issued for the Homann Heirs’ Maior Atlas Scholasticus in 1752, it belongs to a curated pedagogical suite that distilled the firm’s long experience compiling atlases to order into a suggested canon of geography. The result marries workshop finesse, up-to-date intelligence, and the lucid didacticism that made Homann productions indispensable to scholars, merchants, and statesmen alike.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003ePolitically, the sheet captures the post‑Westphalian, post‑Utrecht settlement of the Seventeen Provinces, divided under the Austrian, French, and Batavian scepters named in its title. The Austrian Netherlands dominate the southern tier—Brabant, Flanders, Hainaut, Namur, Luxembourg—counterpoised by the Dutch Republic’s seaboard powers: Holland, Zeeland, Utrecht, Friesland, Groningen, Gelderland, and Overijssel. The independent Prince‑Bishopric of Liège appears as a pivotal ecclesiastical enclave. Along the Franco‑Belgian frontier, scarred by seventeenth‑century annexations and barrier fortresses, Mayer’s boundary lines register the strategic chessboard of the War of the Austrian Succession then in progress. Administrative divisions, fortified towns, and routes knit a political mosaic whose subtle shadings expose the tangled jurisdictional heritage of the Burgundian‑Habsburg Netherlands.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHydrography is the organizing grammar of this world, and Mayer reads it superbly. The Rhine strides in from the east to explode into the Waal, Lek, and IJssel, their distributaries braiding trade into the mercantile capitals of the north. The Meuse threads Liège and Maastricht before sweeping toward the Scheldt, whose estuary stages Antwerp’s fortunes and Zeeland’s amphibious provinces. Amsterdam anchors the IJ and the Zuiderzee; Rotterdam rises on the Nieuwe Maas; Utrecht, The Hague, Groningen, Ghent, Bruges, Brussels, and Antwerp are situated with a surveyor’s poise, connected by canals and chaussées that prefigure modern logistics. The coastlines of Flanders and Holland, the archipelago of Zeeland, the Wadden margins, and a glimpse of England’s southeastern shore cue the maritime horizons that made this region Europe’s entrepôt.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eAn elaborate cartouche in the upper left concentrates the heraldic grammar of the Low Countries—the rampant lions of Brabant and Flanders, the arms of Holland and Zeeland—into a theatrical frame that celebrates legitimacy even as the map dissects it. Color‑coded provinces clarify allegiance at a glance; calibrated scales and finely stepped hachures sustain the draughtsman’s authority without sacrificing beauty. The discreet French title acknowledges a francophone readership as surely as the German imprint proclaims Nuremberg’s craft. In its balance of ornament and order, this sheet epitomizes Homann’s house style: an elegant instrument of statecraft and commerce that fixes, on paper, a watery, walled, and fiercely contested corner of Europe in the precise year it mattered.\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eCities and towns on this map\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBrussels\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAntwerp\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGhent\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBruges\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eLiège\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAmsterdam\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRotterdam\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Hague\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eUtrecht\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEindhoven\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eGroningen\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eNotable Features \u0026amp; Landmarks\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eCartouche: Ornate design containing armorial shields.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eColor-coded Regions: Distinct hues representing different provinces and states.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eRiver Systems: Major rivers such as the Rhine are visible, delineating regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eBorders: Clearly marked boundaries between regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eScale: A scale bar at the bottom indicating distance.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\n\u003cp\u003eHistorical and design context\u003c\/p\u003e\n\u003cul\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDate Created: 1747\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eMapmaker\/Publisher: Homann Heirs\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDrawn by Johann Tobias Mayer for the 1752 Homann Heirs Maior Atlas Scholasticus.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eEarly Homann atlases were often compiled based on buyer requests, but this atlas consisted of a suggested collection of maps.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe Homann family was known for their high-quality maps and atlases in the 18th century, contributing significantly to cartography during that period.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThemes: Political distribution of territories in Belgium and the Netherlands, regional boundaries, and historical affiliations among regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe use of color coding for different regions.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eThe ornate cartouche featuring heraldic elements reflects the artistic style typical of the period.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlternate title in French outside of the upper margin.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eDetailed political map of Belgium and the Netherlands (Holland).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eIncludes Belgilum proper and the seven states of the Belgian Federation (modern Netherlands).\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eAlso depicts parts of England and extends into eastern Germany past the Rhine River.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003cli\u003eHistorical Significance: Represents the political landscape of the Low Countries in the mid-18th century, providing insights into territorial claims and governance during a time of significant change in Europe.\u003c\/li\u003e\n\u003c\/ul\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease double check the images to make sure that a specific town or place is shown on this map. You can also get in touch and ask us to check the map for you.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks great at every size, but I always recommend going for a larger size if you have space. That way you can easily make out all of the details. \u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 40in (100cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003eget in touch\u003c\/a\u003e.\u003c\/p\u003e  \u003cp\u003eThe model in the listing images is holding the 16x16in (40x40cm) version of this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThe fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eIf you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/collections\/all-old-vintage-antique-maps\"\u003ebest old maps\u003c\/a\u003e to see if something else catches your eye.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003ePlease \u003ca href=\"\/fr\/pages\/contact-us\"\u003econtact me\u003c\/a\u003e to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.\u003c\/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eThis map is available as a giclée print on acid free archival matte paper, or you can buy it framed. The frame is a nice, simple black frame that suits most aesthetics. Please get in touch if you'd like a different frame colour or material. My frames are glazed with super-clear museum-grade acrylic (perspex\/acrylite), which is significantly less reflective than glass, safer, and will always arrive in perfect condition.\u003c\/p\u003e","brand":"The Unique Maps Co.","offers":[{"title":"10x10 inches (25x25cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58722172961152,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"10x10 inches (25x25cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58722172993920,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"10x10 inches (25x25cm) \/ Framed canvas map","offer_id":58722173026688,"sku":null,"price":0.0,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x12 inches (30x30cm) \/ Map","offer_id":58722173059456,"sku":null,"price":41.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x12 inches (30x30cm) \/ Framed map","offer_id":58722173092224,"sku":null,"price":112.95,"currency_code":"EUR","in_stock":true},{"title":"12x12 inches (30x30cm) \/ Framed canvas 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