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Coastal Map of China
This coastal map of China is one of several such maps in the Library of Congress. The map is similar, in content and format, to the six maps in Chen Luntong’s Hai quo wen jian lu (Eyewitness accounts of the coastal regions), made in 1730. The wording of several place-names and other details suggest that this map dates from 1787–1820. An introductory text states that it was compiled in the interest of coastal defense. The scroll map contains hundreds of place-names and is intended to be read from ...
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Library of Congress
Fort Jefferson Lighthouse
This photograph shows Fort Jefferson Lighthouse, one of 30 historic lighthouses in the state of Florida. The origins of the structure go back to 1825, when a 65-foot (20-meter) tower was completed at Bush Key (now known as Garden Key) in the Dry Tortugas and fitted with a light consisting of 23 lamps in 14-inch (35-centimeter) reflectors. Construction of Fort Jefferson began in 1847. The fort covered the entire island and incorporated the lighthouse in its south wall. In 1856 a taller lighthouse was constructed, and in 1858 the Garden ...
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State Library and Archives of Florida
Illustrated Discussion on Coastal Defenses
This work is a collection of essays, written by Zhang Zhaoyuan while he was serving as Prefectural Registrar in Baodi (now part of Tianjin, in northeastern China). In one of the essays, Zhang wrote that Baodi was the gateway to Tianjin, hence it was essential to intensify the building of beacon towers, walls, and moats, as well as to train soldiers. The defensive measures called for by Zhang were directed against Japanese pirates who, during the Wanli period (1573-1620), began staging raids on Chinese ships and coastal communities. The pirates ...
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Library of Congress
Map of Coastal Defense
In 1853, Commodore Matthew C. Perry of the United States Navy entered the port of Yokohama near Edo (Tokyo) with an intimidating fleet of steam warships. His objective was to open Japan’s doors to trade after nearly two centuries of restricted contact with the outside world. Perry’s visit prompted the Edo shogunate to reconsider, with feudal lords in the area, the method of coastal protection and to order the construction of forts around present-day Tokyo Bay. This okatame (coastal defense) map depicts the system of defense as it ...
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Library of Congress