Belgii 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.

The 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.

Politically, 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.

Hydrography 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.

An 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.

Cities and towns on this map

• Brussels
• Antwerp
• Ghent
• Bruges
• Liège
• Amsterdam
• Rotterdam
• The Hague
• Utrecht
• Eindhoven
• Groningen

Notable Features & Landmarks

• Cartouche: Ornate design containing armorial shields.
• Color-coded Regions: Distinct hues representing different provinces and states.
• River Systems: Major rivers such as the Rhine are visible, delineating regions.
• Borders: Clearly marked boundaries between regions.
• Scale: A scale bar at the bottom indicating distance.

Historical and design context

• Date Created: 1747
• Mapmaker/Publisher: Homann Heirs
• Drawn by Johann Tobias Mayer for the 1752 Homann Heirs Maior Atlas Scholasticus.
• Early Homann atlases were often compiled based on buyer requests, but this atlas consisted of a suggested collection of maps.
• The Homann family was known for their high-quality maps and atlases in the 18th century, contributing significantly to cartography during that period.
• Themes: Political distribution of territories in Belgium and the Netherlands, regional boundaries, and historical affiliations among regions.
• The use of color coding for different regions.
• The ornate cartouche featuring heraldic elements reflects the artistic style typical of the period.
• Alternate title in French outside of the upper margin.
• Detailed political map of Belgium and the Netherlands (Holland).
• Includes Belgilum proper and the seven states of the Belgian Federation (modern Netherlands).
• Also depicts parts of England and extends into eastern Germany past the Rhine River.
• Historical 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.

Please 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.

This 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.

This map looks amazing at sizes all the way up to 40in (100cm). If you are looking for a larger map, please get in touch.

The model in the listing images is holding the 16x16in (40x40cm) version of this map.

The fifth listing image shows an example of my map personalisation service.

If you’re looking for something slightly different, check out my collection of the best old maps to see if something else catches your eye.

Please contact me to check if a certain location, landmark or feature is shown on this map.

This would make a wonderful birthday, Christmas, Father's Day, work leaving, anniversary or housewarming gift for someone from the areas covered by this map.

This 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.

This map is also available as a float framed canvas, sometimes known as a shadow gap framed canvas or canvas floater. The map is printed on artist's cotton canvas and then stretched over a handmade box frame. We then "float" the canvas inside a wooden frame, which is available in a range of colours (black, dark brown, oak, antique gold and white). This is a wonderful way to present a map without glazing in front. See some examples of float framed canvas maps and explore the differences between my different finishes.

For something truly unique, this map is also available in "Unique 3D", our trademarked process that dramatically transforms the map so that it has a wonderful sense of depth. We combine the original map with detailed topography and elevation data, so that mountains and the terrain really "pop". For more info and examples of 3D maps, check my Unique 3D page.