Building the Great Chain, Expanding the Empire: Triangulation in the Time of Napoleon.

This paper analyses the development of a triangulation network in the time of Napoleon I, when, due to imperial expansion, the extension of the existing triangulation network was necessary to extend Cassini's original map of France to the newly conquered territories of the French Empire. For this purpose, triangulators had to connect the already existing regional networks with the basic French network, as well as establish completely new ones in regions where they had not existed until then. Connecting various networks into a single chain was not only aimed at improving the accuracy of maps; it was also a clear reflection of a new understanding of territorial sovereignty. This paper examines which networks were established within modern-day northern Italy and maritime Croatia, and how they were mutually harmonized and interconnected, as well as what kind of repercussions this had on the development of mapping and map standardization. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]