The Ukraine was divided between Poland and Russia in the 17th century. In order to control this enormous area and to protect it against enemies the Polish king <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/W%C5%82adys%C5%82aw_IV_Vasa" class="extiw" title="en:Władysław IV Vasa">Władysław IV Vasa</a> ordered the complete territory to be surveyed and mapped by the French military <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Guillaume_Le_Vasseur_de_Beauplan" class="extiw" title="en:Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan">Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan</a> (1595-1685). This survey plan of the Ukraine was composed in 1639 by De Beauplan, engraved and published by <a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Willem_Hondius" class="extiw" title="en:Willem Hondius">Willem Hondius</a> in 1648 in Gdansk.
<bdi><a href="https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/en:Guillaume_Le_Vasseur_de_Beauplan" class="extiw" title="w:en:Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan"><span title="French military engineer and cartographer">Guillaume Le Vasseur de Beauplan</span></a>
</bdi>
1648<div style="display: none;">date QS:P571,+1648-00-00T00:00:00Z/9</div>
This digital media file - and/or the physical objects depicted on it - originates from the digital and/or physical collections of the <a rel="nofollow" class="external text" href="https://www.kb.nl/">Koninklijke Bibliotheek</a>, national library of the Netherlands.