Denmark

“Only three people have ever really understood the Schleswig-Holstein business—the Prince Consort, who is dead—a German professor, who has gone mad—and I, who have forgotten all about it.” – Lord Palmerston

After supporting Napoleon against several of the coalitions against him, Denmark was stripped of much of its territory at the resulting Congress of Vienna in 1815 (namely, the kingdom of Norway). This map, issued three years later, shows the resulting borders of the peninsula and island group divided into various provinces using hand-applied color.

Of particular interest is Jutland, north of the Duchy of Holstein near the bottom of the page. This region (alternatively known as northern and southern Schleswig) was becoming increasingly Germanized, and the coming decades would see the development of the Schleswig-Holstein Question between Denmark and the upstart German Confederation. An inset map of Iceland is provided in the upper left corner, though Greenland, also under Danish authority, is omitted from the image.

The map was originally designed by Scottish cartographer John Pinkerton. As part of the Edinburgh School of Cartography (which included the likes of John Cary and John Thomson), Pinkerton was responsible for creating some of the most highly detailed and precise atlas maps of the early 19th century. Today, his maps are prized for their size, color, and wealth of information. This particular example was included in the American edition of Pinkerton’s Modern Atlas, published in Philadelphia by Thomas Dobson in 1818.