Mediterranean Islands Map – British Possessions, 1851

British Possessions in the Mediterranean: A Victorian Map of Empire and Sea Power

Published in 1851, this remarkable map originally appeared in The Illustrated Atlas, and Modern History of the World, Geographical, Political, Commercial and Statistical. The atlas was edited by R. Montgomery Martin and published in London and New York by John and Frederick Tallis. Its maps combined detailed geography with decorative engraving, making them as attractive to display as they were informative to study.

The cartography was drawn and engraved by John Rapkin, whose work appeared throughout the Tallis atlas. The accompanying illustrations were drawn and engraved by H. Winkles. Together, they created a richly composed sheet in which maps, coastal views, ships and ornamental flourishes form a unified picture of Britain’s nineteenth-century Mediterranean presence.

Rather than presenting the Mediterranean as one continuous chart, Rapkin arranged a series of separate maps at different scales. These include Gibraltar, Malta and Gozo, and the British-protected Ionian Islands. Corfu, Paxos, Cerigo, Zante, Cephalonia, Ithaca and Santa Maura are all represented—the latter islands now being more commonly known as Kythira, Zakynthos, Kefalonia and Lefkada.

At the western entrance to the Mediterranean stands Gibraltar. Anglo-Dutch forces captured the peninsula in 1704 during the War of the Spanish Succession, and Spain ceded it to Great Britain under the Treaty of Utrecht in 1713. Its position beside the narrow strait connecting the Atlantic and Mediterranean gave Gibraltar exceptional naval and commercial importance. The Rock, harbour, fortifications and surrounding waters consequently occupy a prominent place within this composition.

Malta and Gozo formed Britain’s principal base in the central Mediterranean. Following a brief French occupation, Malta passed under British rule in 1800 and became a Crown Colony during the Napoleonic period. Its deep natural harbours and central position made it invaluable to the Royal Navy and to ships travelling between western Europe, the eastern Mediterranean and routes leading towards India. Rapkin’s detailed treatment of the Maltese islands reflects their importance as both a fortified outpost and a busy maritime crossroads.

The eastern part of the sheet records the United States of the Ionian Islands, a self-governing state placed under British protection in 1815. Corfu served as its administrative centre, while the other principal islands stretched southwards along the western coast of Greece. British administration brought new roads, public buildings and defensive works, but it also met considerable local opposition. Demands for union with Greece grew during the nineteenth century, and the protectorate was eventually relinquished in 1864, thirteen years after this map was published.

The map’s title, British Possessions in the Mediterranean, therefore reflects the political language and imperial outlook of its period. Gibraltar and Malta were governed directly by Britain, while the Ionian Islands occupied the more complicated position of a protected state. Rapkin’s composition brings these geographically separated territories together, visually presenting them as parts of a connected British maritime system.

Fine lettering identifies towns, harbours, bays, roads and coastal features, while outline colour distinguishes the different territories. The surrounding views of ports and vessels reinforce the maritime character of the subject. These illustrations also gave Victorian atlas owners an impression of distant places at a time when international travel remained beyond the reach of most people.

Viewed today, the map is both an attractive example of Victorian decorative cartography and a revealing historical document. It records a Mediterranean shaped by naval power, trade and competing empires, while preserving earlier spellings and names that have since changed. For those with family, travel or historical connections to Gibraltar, Malta, Gozo, Corfu or the Ionian Islands, it offers an especially engaging link with the region’s nineteenth-century past.