1796 Barrow Nautical Map Showing the Tracks of the Macartney Embassy to China

This large 1796 John Barrow nautical map of the Atlantic and Indian Oceans was produced to accompany George Leonard Staunton's account of the first British diplomatic embassy to China, led by George Macartney on behalf of George III. It was drawn by John Barrow, who had served as the official interpreter to Lord Macartney's mission. The chart records the track of the squadron carrying the embassy from London to Beijing, from October 1792 to September 1794. It includes readings of atmospheric pressure and temperature recorded daily at noon during the voyage. The map supplies updated information of the political and cultural divisions in China and in the neighboring regions of Asia - many areas of which would still not be mapped in detail well into the 19th century. In some cases, the new Chinese terminology used for an area is shown to replace names drawn from Ptolemy, eg. 'Tartars of Little Bucharia: subject to the Empire of China, anciently Scythia extra imaum.'

Sea of Korea vs. Sea of Japan

The sea between Japan and Korea, whose name, either the 'Sea of Korea,' 'East Sea,' or the 'Sea of Japan,' is here identified in favor of Korea (Sea of Corea). Historically, Korea has used the term 'East Sea' since 59 B.C., and many books published before the Japanese annexed Korea make references to the 'East Sea' or 'Sea of Korea.' Over the centuries, neighboring and western countries have identified Korea's East Sea using various different terms. The St. Petersburg Academy of Sciences referred to the East Sea as 'Koreiskoe Mope' or 'Sea of Korea' in their 1745 map of Asia. Other seventeenth and 18th century Russian maps alternate between 'Sea of Korea' and 'Eastern Ocean.' The 18th century Russian and French explorers Adam Johan von Krusenstern and La Perouse called it the 'Sea of Japan,' a term that became popular worldwide. Nonetheless, the last official map published by the Russians name the East Sea the 'Sea of Korea.' The name is currently still a matter of historical and political dispute between the countries.

The Failed Embassy

Macartney had been tasked with convincing the Chinese Emperor Qianlong to ease restrictions on trade between Great Britain and China and to allow the British to have a permanent embassy in the country. The embassy was successful in none of these things. While much has been made of Macartney's refusal to kowtow to the Emperor, however, the failure of the mission might equally be laid to the Chinese Emperor's insistence - in a subsequent letter to King George III - in referring to all Europeans as 'barbarians', all nations of the earth as being subordinate to China, and addressing the king himself as a Chinese subject, abjuring him to 'Tremblingly obey and show no negligence!'

Publication History and Census

The map was printed in 1796 to accompany Staunton's 1797 An authentic account of an embassy from the king of Great Britain to the emperor of China. The Account appears four institutional collections listed in OCLC. The separate map is only catalogued at the Caird Library of the National Maritime Museum.