Authors

Discussion

This paper draws attention to a less studied historical region in the context of the formation of borders in Eastern Europe during the early modern period. Combining the disciplines of history and cartography allows one to explain the role of borderland regions in the development of borders in 18th century Eastern Europe.

Sloboda-Ukraine is the historical borderland region which was formed in the middle of the 17th century. It does not match modern-day borders as it is currently located in northeastern Ukraine and southwestern Russia.

The aim of this paper is to show how Ukraine-Sloboda - the borderland was seen by French cartographers from the middle of the 17th century to the 18th century. Ukraine-Sloboda stood as an autonomous borderland region for about a century. Five Sloboda Regiments were represented Sloboda-Ukraine, and bordered with states like the Hetmanate (Cossack State), the Zaporizhian Cossacks, Crimean Khanate and Moscow Tsardom (later the Russian empire) from the middle of the 17th century until 1765 when the Sloboda Regiments were suppressed by the Russian empire. During this period two administrative divisions in the co-existed: the Russian one – the external borders of Ukraine-Sloboda and Ukrainian (Ruthenian) one - the inner territorial division, which are represented by Sloboda Regiments. The Ukrainian population was autonomous and actively developing its economy when the Russian empire was making attempts at incorporating this region.

Maps drawn by western Europeans cartographers are one of the important historical sources which can show how this region was seen by the cartographers of other countries in early-modern period. Ukraine-Sloboda was very often shown on the maps representing Moscovie (Moscow Tsardom), the Russian empire, Cossack Ukraine, Petite Tataria or Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth.

The maps created by the French cartographers in the middle of 17th-18th century depicted this region and offer a perspective drawn from a “foreigner’s” vision. According to those cartographers, this region underwent a major change, from being a borderland to becoming an inner region of the Russian empire. Most French cartographers from early-modern period didn’t have clear idea where exactly this region was, little information about cities there and whom Ukraine-Sloboda belonged to was available. However, there was a French mapmaker, called Joseph-Nicolas Delisle who went to the Russian empire and depicted Sloboda Regiments in 1720s together with other regions of the empire for the first time. Through all the depictions, we can see how through the century the shifting of the countries’ borders were mapped on these lands.  The lands of Ukraine-Sloboda were shown as the borderland region where border between Moscow Tsardom, Polish-Lithuanian Commonwealth and the Hetmanate passed in middle of it or as a part of Moscovie and named “Okraina” in the second part of 17th century. In the first part of 18th century, Ukraine-Sloboda was represented as part of “Ukraine ou Pays des Cosaques” or as part of Wild Field. In the second part of 18th century, Ukraine-Sloboda was shown as a part of Belgorod Province of the Russian empire, even though in this period Sloboda Regiments were suppressed and were made into Sloboda-Ukraine Province.

Accordingly, the French cartographical materials of the early modern period shown that Ukraine-Sloboda wasn’t seen as a separate region and depicted as a part of other countries. However, the maps showed the shifting of the borders on those territories and established a “foreigner's” vision of Ukraine-Sloboda in the early-modern period. The French maps of the early modern period are key in the study of the development of borders in Eastern Europe.