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Description

This is a fascinating genealogical tree, made during the dying days of more than 300 years of uninterrupted Hapsburg rule. The genealogy of the Hapsburgs is traced back for, at certain points, over 30 generations to the counts of Tyrol (seen to the right of the map) and the first German kings (to the left of the map). Several extinct offshoots of the family are shown, with the main Hapsburg line in the center. At the time, this family controlled large portions of Europe, with their primary holdings concentrated in Austria and Spain.

The work is further illustrated with many coats of arms and the major Hapsburg palaces, including the grand Escurial palace in Madrid. Interesting historical remarks are described, for example, it is noted that the true origins of the Hapsburg family should not be made public because they are "too illustrious [and] too ancient."

This map does not show a male Hapsburg heir, and one would never be produced. As such, the title of Emperor of Austria would pass to the House of Wittelsbach in the form of Charles VII.

This map likely dates to around 1720 based on the births of the youngest members of the Hapsburg family, including Marie Amalie, future wife of Charles VII. Interestingly, the death date for Joseph I is left blank, although he died in 1711.

Henri Chatelain Biography

Henri Abraham Chatelain (1684-1743) was a Huguenot pastor of Parisian origins. Chatelain proved a successful businessman, creating lucrative networks in London, The Hague, and then Amsterdam. He is most well known for the Atlas Historique, published in seven volumes between 1705 and 1720. This encyclopedic work was devoted to the history and genealogy of the continents, discussing such topics as geography, cosmography, topography, heraldry, and ethnography. Published thanks to a partnership between Henri, his father, Zacharie, and his younger brother, also Zacharie, the text was contributed to by Nicolas Gueudeville, a French geographer. The maps were by Henri, largely after the work of Guillaume Delisle, and they offered the general reader a window into the emerging world of the eighteenth century.