History Research

Maps

Scholarly resources in all areas of historical research at Boston College

Geography and Space on Paper

Many historians love maps. They are among our primary sources. They assist with interpretation. And, they are often really pretty. Here is an introduction to a few databases that provide historical maps.

More Data & Mapping Resources

The databases listed here are just the beginning of our statistical and spatial data collections. See the Data/Statistics/GIS Portal for a more complete list.

Historical Maps Online

Afriterra: The Cartographic Free Library
The Afriterra Library embraces a non-profit mission to access, preserve, and apply the cartographic record of Africa, enabling broader interpretation and transformative education. Covers over 500 years in 8 languages with over 3000 creators.
David Rumsey Map Collection
Over 95,000 Collection Maps and related images with global coverage from the 13th to the 21st centuries with excellent search capacities. Focuses on 16th–21st century maps of North and and South America, as well as maps of the world, Asia, Africa, Europe, and Oceania. The collection includes atlases, globes, school geographies, maritime charts, and a variety of separate maps including pocket, wall, children's and manuscript maps.

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Host: Stanford University
Hargrett Historical Maps Database
The Hargrett Rare Book & Manuscript Library at the University of Georgia Libraries maintains a collection of more than 1,000 historic maps spanning nearly 500 years, from the sixteenth century through the early twentieth century. Although not limited to a single geographic subject, the collection heavily emphasizes Georgia as colony and state, along with its surrounding region.
Historic Maps for Students & Teachers
Part of the Educational Technology Clearinghouse, this collection of world maps highlights political change through multiple periods across different areas of the globe.
Les globes en 3D
The French National Library's 3d virtual representation of several historic globes.
Maps at the LOC
With some 35,000 maps online, the Library of Congress provides an impressive array of maps dating from the 12th century to the present with emphasis on the US but global coverage.
Maps at the US National Archives
This is a link to the "advanced search" at the US National Archives. Note that you can limit by "Type of Archival Materials." Search results for digitized "maps and charts" will return more than 30,000 results with a heavy emphasis on military maps.
Old Maps Online
OldMapsOnline developed out of a love of history and heritage of old maps. The project began as a collaboration between Klokan Technologies GmbH, Switzerland and The Great Britain Historical GIS Project based at the University of Portsmouth, UK thanks to funding from JISC. OldMapsOnline.org indexes over 400.000 maps.
Oxford Islamic Studies Online: Maps
Link to the collection's images and maps.
Perry-Castañeda Library Map Collection
Fantastic collection of U.S. and world maps from the University of Texas at Austin.

Historical Maps: Subscriptions

ARTstor
A search for "maps" will return users more than 14,000 results from across multiple centuries depicting multiple global spaces. Particularly strong from 1500 to the present with a heavy European and US focus but with strong Indian and East Asian representation (and other).
Global Commodities
Focused on 15 significant commodities: Chocolate, Coffee, Cotton, Fur, Oil, Opium, Porcelain, Silver & Gold, Spices, Sugar, Tea, Timber, Tobacco, Wheat, and Wine & Spirits. Each commodity is documented through manuscript materials, maps, posters, paintings, photographs, and rare books, allowing students to explore the origins of the commodity, their first uses, the trade that developed and the ways in which these items were marketed and consumed.
Medieval Travel Writing
This database provides direct access to a wide collection of original medieval manuscripts that describe travel - real and imaginary - in the Middle Ages. These sources tell us much about the attitudes and preconceptions of people across Europe in the medieval period, shedding light on issues of race, economics, trade, militarism, politics, literature and science. The project combines: a) Multiple manuscript sources detailing the journeys of famous travelers from Prester John and Marco Polo to Sir John Mandeville and John Capgrave; b)Translations and supporting materials (all of which are fully searchable); c) Maps showing the routes of the travelers; d) Introductory essays by leading scholars.

Map Collections in Boston Archives

Norman B. Leventhal Map Center at the Boston Public Library
This wonderful collection of maps provides access to tens of thousands of maps from all over the world, dating back to the earliest European maps. Browse (a-z) or search using the box in the upper right corner.
Harvard Map Library
The Map Collection houses geographic materials from all periods. Explore paper maps, geospatial data, and map-making software. Harvard Library can help you find ways to use maps and spatial thinking in your life, research, and teaching.
Digital Commonwealth
Something like a mini-DPLA for Massachusetts, this site draws together records from archives and historical societies all over Massachusetts. Searchable by place name, subject, title, or creator.

For additional help

For additional recommendations, contact your subject liaison (Dr. Bee Lehman) at brittany.lehman@bc.edu or schedule an appointment with them.

O'Neill Library

Bapst Library

Burns Library

Educational Resource Center

Law Library

Social Work Library

Theology & Ministry Library

O'Connor Library