Imperiia: a spatial history of the Russian EmpireMain MenuAboutDashboardsData CatalogMapStoriesGalleriesGamesWho said history was boring?Map ShelfTeach Our ContentCiting the ProjectKelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5The Imperiia Project // Davis Center for Russian and Eurasian Studies, Harvard University
Voyager
12020-04-30T18:40:23-04:00Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5912A German map of a French voyage, in which north is put in its place.plain2020-05-05T13:52:01-04:001790Kelly O'Neilldc20b45f1d74122ba0d654d19961d826c5a557f5Jean-Baptiste Barthélemy de Lesseps was a polyglot, diplomat, and adventurer. The son of the French consul in St. Petersburg, he spent part of his childhood in St. Petersburg. In 1785 he joined the La Perouse expedition as Russian interpreter and sailed to Kamchatka via Cape Horn. La Perouse entrusted de Lesseps with the voyage documents and ordered him to carry them overland to Paris (keeping them in French hands) while the ships sailed on. The trip from Kamchatka to Paris via St. Petersburg took sixteen months and involved muddy roads, swarms of insects, and sunken boats.
This map is a relic of his voyage. With north on the left of the sheet, this map offers a much different perspective on the peninsula.
12020-04-30T18:39:41-04:00Voyager1Full Title: Herrn von Lesseps Reise von dem St. Peter und St. Pauls Hafen durch Kamtschatka und längs dem Penschinischen Meerbusen bis nach Jamsk // Berlin, 1790 // Harvard Map Collection. Catalog permalink: http://id.lib.harvard.edu/alma/990145164240203941/catalogplain2020-04-30T18:39:41-04:001790
