Map of the province of Extremadura (1798)

This map was created by Spanish cartographer Tomás López de Vargas Machuca in 1798 and published posthumously by his sons in the “Geographical Atlas of Spain” from 1804. The map depicts the province of Extremadura with the territorial boundaries prior to the provincial administrative reform carried out by Javier de Burgos in 1833.

The province of Extremadura bordered the Kingdom of Portugal, to the north with the province of Salamanca, to the northeast with the province of Ávila, to the east with the province of Toledo and the province of La Mancha, to the southeast with the Kingdom of Córdoba and to the south-west with the Kingdom of Seville.

The administrative division of the province of Extremadura comprised eight districts: Badajoz, Alcántara, Cáceres, Llenera, Mérida, Plasencia, Trujillo, and Villanueva de la Serena. In addition, the map also shows the ecclesiastical division, with blue lines, including: the diocese of Coria, the diocese of Plasencia, the diocese of Badajoz, the diocese of Mérida and the priory of Magacela.

Following Javier de Burgos' reform, Extremadura gained regional status and was divided into the provinces of Badajoz and Cáceres. The border was slightly redrawn, with some towns becoming part of the province of Badajoz, such as Higuera de la Real, and others becoming part of Andalusia, such as Guadalcanal.

You can read more about Tomás López and his atlas in this article from the newsletter: Tomás López and the first detailed atlas of Spain (1804).

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