Nice impression of Schenk's view on cities in France and Belgium, published in Amsterdam around the year 1700. This map focuses on the defenses of buildings in an area where the majority of the War of the Spanish Succession would be fought.
Cities shown include Grevelingen, Ghent, Aath, Winochs-Bergen, Arras, Bethune, and Ypres. Each includes a description in Latin and Dutch describing the history of 17th-century conquests, which was a period in which the territory in this area changed hands frequently between the Hapsburgs, the United Provinces, and France. The Franco-Spanish War (1635-1659) was heavily fought in this area.
The War of the Spanish Succession, which started in 1701, would again be fought in these areas. Louis XIV's expansionist policies lead to most of the cities shown on the map becoming French.
Peter Schenk the Elder (1660-1711) moved to Amsterdam in 1675 and began to learn the art of mezzotint. In 1694 he bought some of the copperplate stock of the mapmaker Johannes Janssonius, which allowed him to specialize in the engraving and printing of maps and prints. He split his time between his Amsterdam shop and Leipzig and also sold a considerable volume of materials to London.
Peter Schenk the Elder had three sons. Peter the Younger carried on his father’s business in Leipzig while the other two, Leonard and Jan, worked in Amsterdam. Leonard engraved several maps and also carried on his father’s relationship with engraving plates for the Amsterdam edition of the Histoire de l'Académie Royale des Sciences.