Map of South America taken from the rare “Atlante di geografia moderna ad uso dei ginnasi del Regno Lombardo Veneto” edited by the geographer and astronomer Giovanni Marieni and published in Milan in 1833 by the Imperiale Regia Stamperia.
The map reveals fascinating geopolitical and toponymic dynamics characteristic of the era:
Post-colonial fragmentation: The northern region bears the names of Nueva Granada, Venezuela, and Quito—areas emerging from the recent collapse (which occurred between 1830 and 1831) of Simón Bolívar’s Gran Colombia.
The Empire of Brazil: The vast central and eastern portion is occupied by the colossal Government of Brazil (which became an independent empire in 1822), internally divided into captaincies or historical provinces (Para, Maranhão, Pernambuco, Bahia, São Paulo).
Upper Peru and the South: The central Andean region shows the transition between Upper Peru (the newly formed Bolivia) and Peru proper. Further south, Argentina is labeled with the historical names United Provinces of the Río de la Plata and Land of the Pampas or Buenos Aires, reflecting a state identity still in the process of consolidation.
The map is completed in the lower left corner by an inset that focuses attention on a geographically remote part of the world, at that time almost entirely shrouded in myth and ice: the sub-Antarctic islands and the southernmost reaches of the South Atlantic, such as Tierra del Fuego and the Strait of Magellan.
The Falkland Islands: Designated by the dual political and historical nomenclature “Falkland or Malvinas Islands.” In 1833, the very year this map was printed, the United Kingdom reaffirmed its sovereignty over the islands by force, sparking a geopolitical dispute with Argentina that continues to this day.
Recent Antarctic Discoveries: Moving even further east and south, the inset shows Sandwich Land, South Georgia, and, most notably, the “South Shetland Islands.” This archipelago, located off the Antarctic Peninsula, had been discovered only in 1819 by British Captain William Smith.
In the years immediately preceding the publication of this map (1833), South America was the scene of crucial scientific expeditions. In December 1831, the British ship HMS Beagle, with a young Charles Darwin and Captain Robert FitzRoy on board, set sail to map in detail the southern coasts of the continent (Patagonia, Tierra del Fuego, and the Falkland Islands). The data from these British surveys had not yet been fully incorporated into the Milanese printing house’s continental cartography, making this map a perfect “snapshot” of the state of Eurocentric knowledge immediately preceding the Darwinian scientific revolution.
The history of the Imperiale Regia Stamperia di Milano is closely linked to the Austrian presence in Lombardy. Founded in 1761 by order of Maria Theresa of Austria, the Imperiale Regia Stamperia di Milano represented the state’s typographic excellence for nearly a century. During the Habsburg period, the printing house served as the official body responsible for publishing laws, edicts, and school textbooks approved by the Austrian government. Thanks to its collaboration with technicians, engravers, and geographers affiliated with imperial scientific institutions, the printing house contributed to the dissemination of publications of high typographical and scientific quality. With the Five Days of Milan and the subsequent Risorgimento uprisings, the printing house lost its “imperial” character, gradually transforming into Stamperia Reale after the unification of Italy.
