Map of the World circa 1861

Published by James Wyld circa 1861 this is a map of the World on Mercator's projection circa 1861. The map predates the purchase from Russia of Alaska for $7.2 million in 1867. The interior of Africa is mostly unknown to European map makers as are the Arctic and Antarctic regions. Similarly the Australian interior is uncharted.

When this map was published:

Mercator's Projection:
It is impossible to portray the reality of a spherical world on a flat map. Projections come with a trade off between shape, distance, direction, and land area.
Mercator’s projection was first used on world maps in 1569 introduced by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator. The important factor on maps based on Mercator’s projection is that the outline of countries remains true to form, but mostly that it provides a simple, reliable way to navigate the ocean. A line drawn between two points on the map would provide the exact angle to follow on a compass.

The land mass is grossly exaggerated around the North Pole and shrinks around the equator. In reality:
-China is four times bigger than Greenland
- The Scandinavian countries have a much smaller land mass. Scandinavia could fit inside India’s border three times over
- Greenland is 14 times smaller than Africa
- All of North America and the European countries are represented larger than they truly are
- Canada and Russia appear to take up approximately 25 % of the Earth’s surface, when in reality they occupy about 5%.