Revealing King George III's Astonishing Military Map Collection At Windsor Castle

'Revealing King George III's Astonishing Military Map Collection At Windsor Castle'
Though perhaps better-remembered today for his late-reign madness and the slight issue of losing the Thirteen Colonies, King George III was also one of the world's greatest collectors of military maps. Preserved in excellent condition within Windsor Castle, these highly-detailed maps cover a range of conflicts stretching several centuries. From the decisive naval battle at Lepanto to Bonnie Prince Charlie's last stand at Culloden, join Dan Snow as he is shown through some of the most remarkable records of these conflicts in existence.
#KingGeorgeIII #WindsorCastle #HistoricMaps
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[@Simon_de_Cornouailles]

"Nothing of importance happened today" - personal diary of King George III, 4 July 1776

[@caractacuspott4581]

LOL

[@JohnyG29]

Well it would have taken longer than a day for the news to reach the British Isles.

[@plunketgreene3646]

"Chasse. Rien" ("Hunting. Nothing.") Diary of Louis XVI, 14 July 1789

[@itsanit123]

Techinally July 2nd is when the colonies voted to be independent, the 4th was just passing the declaration so it actually wasn't that important

[@caractacuspott4581]

@@itsanit123 Yeah thats why we celebrate the 2nd of July as a National Holiday... 🤣

[@sam_uelson]

I have a coin with the mark of George iii on it; it's been handed down from oldest child to oldest child since it was minted in Birmingham.

[@paulpaxtop1580]

That was a belta Dan, absolutely fascinating, great discussion by 2 chaps who know what they’re on about!

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

Last time I was this early, Lord Nelson still had all his eyes and limbs

[@fourmilier.]

Around 18:04?

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

@@fourmilier. yes

[@swrennie]

So early, apparently, that past tense hadn't been invented yet...😏

[@horationelson1840]

Tell me about it bro

[@heythisisminenotyours]

I see the castle nearly every single day of my life and just think of all the documents that are kept in the round tower every single time I see it

[@cleverusername9369]

American here, is Windsor where the Queen generally lives most of the time?

[@heythisisminenotyours]

@@cleverusername9369 since COVID and her old age almost 100% of the time but pre covid most weekends and a few weeks every now and then.

[@notnek202]

Dallas, Texas here. How often do you visit? I would explore the castle at least once a week if I lived close by. I would like to explore the royal vault. Lucky you.

[@heythisisminenotyours]

@@notnek202 twice in my lifetime! Did go last year and before that sometime in the 90s!

[@timgelder4263]

I would prefer more views of the maps and few of these guys looking at them

[@Johnny-Joseph]

Its incredible the depth of information that was shared with the public back home, and the respect they paid the British (albeit upper classes) people in understanding complex maps and charts.

[@Zack91893]

The Yorktown map is pretty cool. Even better since I've walked that field and stood in those redoughts it was a truly harrowing experience.

[@williamrobinson7435]

A wonderful collection. Brilliant! 👍

[@starkiller9897]

Truly amazing!! Astounding the amount of military maps in this collection!! This really makes me wonder have any of these maps contained any information that perhaps was overlooked or forgotten & wasn't in history books!! Surely their must have been somthing now that's what I would be keen to hear about, what information was lost to us until found again in one of these old maps!! You could spend years & years going over the vast volume of works held in this collection!! Wonder what was the oldest military map he had in this collection!! Very much would like to see a follow up as you haven't even scratched the surface of this beautiful collection!

[@kevincahill1204]

Fascinating

[@kinggeorgeiii7515]

This is a pretty cool video. Great work!

[@findajobingermany4804]

Why he touched the maps without wearing gloves?

[@barrymcmanmon9595]

Wearing gloves is absurd.

[@jo-vf8jx]

Clean dry hands is all you really need. It honestly depends on the type of material that would be handled that decides if gloves are needed or not. Wearing gloves can actually cause more damage than not wearing any.

[@kylefisher1458]

@@jo-vf8jx seems the paper used for the maps is of a higher/stronger quality than usual for paper too (as best as i can tell watching a video)

[@gwynwellliver4489]

Amazing!

[@sattm8230]

If tabletop wargames had been around back then I could totally see this guy playing.

[@allanburt5250]

This is fantastic what an astonishing collection.... much appreciated

[@shadeofthetrees]

What is the baroque intro music? It’s lovely

[@logancohen1548]

This is fascinating

[@stevenfletcher204]

Fantastic video! Recognized the Battle of Quebec instantly. It was my direct ancestor who was General Wolfe’s engineer, Patrick MacKellar. I have copies of the maps Great Grand-dad (11 or 12 times removed) did for Wolfe. I had to go to the Canadian Archives to get the copies. It’s wonderful to learn that the entire King George III collection is online. Thanks for posting this very exciting video! Great stuff!

[@kinggeorgeiii7515]

I have ancestors on both sides of the Battle of Quebec! One was a lieutenant in the British Army!

[@davidlefranc6240]

@@kinggeorgeiii7515 Not surprising !

[@runmethat9909]

Only problem I have being this early is I don’t get to browse the comments during the video 😢

[@JohnyG29]

I predict you won't miss much.

[@charlesmaximus9161]

9:20 I’m an American with a fair number of American Loyalists in my ancestry. I’m sure Dan knows this, but one of the most shocking things I find about the colonial American rebellion is that many of the Crown’s top generals were Whigs who either supported or were indifferent to the colonial cause. Most of them were also older veterans of previous wars and were probably more reserved on the field as a result; thus, they were less inclined to attack strong enemy positions that could result in higher casualties. At that time, there was an incredibly bitter war of ideas - on both sides of the Pond - between Whigs and Tories. For a variety of complicated reasons, almost none faced legal repercussions for what can only be called blatant insubordination. Well, that is, all except General Howe. According to historian Charles Coulombe, Howe was called into question after the war as to why he allowed Washington and the rebels to escape on multiple occasions; his response was infuriating. He said, “the answer to that question is political in nature, and I am not obliged to answer it.”

[@PatrickMJr]

I'm a direct descendant of John Paul Jones (on my father's side) and on my mother's side was George Sewell Boutwell, and his ancestors going all the way back to the first landing at Jamestown.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

Howe of course never spelled his reasons out, but I suspect he was being a bit over-cautious considering everything he had, beans-bullets-band aids-bodies had to come 3,000 miles, and the assets he did have had were scraped together from all over the British Isles. He couldn't afford to lose a lot and in my opinion became more concerned with not losing a battle than he was about winning it. And having been at Bunker Hill he may very well have been spooked by what the Americans were capable of when cornered.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

@@codieomeallain6635 There's no evidence at all that any British general in North America deliberately threw away a chance to defeat the Americans. They may and did make wrong decisions but never treasonous ones. While generals like Howe and Cornwallis were sympathetic to the colonist's grievances they were still king's men and willing to do their duty to the best of their ability. In fact to my knowledge any British officer unwilling to fight the Americans wasn't compelled to do so, and there were many of them. And as far as I know few ever gave them any grief over the decision.

[@Carburetors_and_calamaties]

Imagine drawing a satellite image without ever seeing a satellite image ever before

[@danalden1112]

I kept thinking if only these maps were online. Thanks for the link!

[@mrdeliberate5175]

I already love this channel, but I particularly love maps. This channel just gets better and better! To see the original details, casualty numbers, etc, is just facinating. Thanks!

[@schrodingerscat6437]

Oh look, priceless 250 year old maps, ill just put my filthy fingers all over them.

[@kylefisher1458]

Dan Snow is acting like a giddy child seeing this maps. Its wonderful to see ... thumbs up

[@BadgerUKvideo]

Now this is some good shit!

[@JOHNTOPG]

10:46 i never heard the British perspective of the French chasing them off 🤣🤣 VIVA LA FRANCE God bless America

[@davidlefranc6240]

😅🤣

[@Louis-ue7co]

Would be great If Dan Snow would shut up and let the expert actually talk about these maps.

[@FrancoisHBear]

I got the impression Dan knew a little more than the expert (I suspect he was an expert archivist and curator rather than war historian) about some of the battles. I think main aim of the video was to let people know the maps were online.

[@martynhulland6252]

I don't think Dan could contain his excitement..and his knowledge is excellent..particularly the Battle of Quebec..I have that book but still yet to read.

[@chromes5567]

Absolutely stunning pieces of work.

[@somthingbrutal]

tiny note Falkirk is pronounced Fall-Kirk

[@faithlesshound5621]

That's the middle class pronunciation. The working class version is "Faw-kirk" as it would have been in earlier Scots. "Faw" means "speckled." The Gaelic name "An Eaglais Bhreac" means "the speckled church."

[@patrickspeaight9154]

Do gentle down your voice; not every thing is as exciting. May be less of the 'I'm, more of the we or us.

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

@15:04 "Your have soldiers drinking and one vomiting there." "O brilliant!" It's funny but it's also true like they say that little vignettes like that are invaluable to historians. I just thought the "O brilliant!" to a picture of someone getting sick was pretty hilarious

[@kev3d]

"I guess we should have sent your map of Yorktown to Cornwallis, your Majesty." "I swear to God, Stephen. SHUT THE HELL UP."

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

Even as a kid I would stare for hours at the nautical maps of the Great Lakes and the inland lakes of the northern Lower Peninsula of Michigan where we would go sailing and water skiing. I would get totally lost (in a very good way!) in a collection like this! I'm glad we were able to see these beautiful works of art!

[@samiam619]

I live on Lake Charlevoix…

[@Jon.A.Scholt]

@@samiam619 I am more than a bit jealous! Growing up our family cottage was on Green Lake; my parents met at Interlochen and since pretty much everyone in the family spent many summers up there having a cottage on Green Lake was very convenient. But we would often take our power boat to different lakes all over to water ski, mostly to Torch Lake, the West Bay or to Leland so we could go out to South Manitou and Pyramid Point, but we did spend a fair amount of time on Lake Charlevoix too. Of all the inland lakes Torch and Charlevoix are probably my favorites since they're size and depth means the water is clean. Though I love both Big and Little Glen Lake since they have the Dunes as their backdrop.

[@EricJMillan]

I would watch hours of someone sifting through this map archive!

[@pvtj0cker]

Imagine how much this man would pay for a PC with a copy of Google Earth on it.

[@metallfanyt]

awesome

[@Familylawgroup]

I want to see so many more objects in the prints and drawings collections. I don’t know if that includes books as well but book collections are also fascinating to me. Has Windsor Castle digitized any of its collection for the world to review?

[@xidada666]

Revealing? More like showcasing or featuring. Nothing was "revealed."

[@louismiles9895]

The true passion and excitement shown makes this video much better

[@welshpete12]

Remarkable ! it musty have been the, the new reel of the time, and now to be able to see them on line for free , fantastic !

[@livefree223]

What an amazing collection!

[@CartoonHistory]

These maps will be worth are fortune!!!

[@andrewpestotnik5495]

First

[@TheMormonPower]

I have a serious problem hearing the two of them speak, they seem to be whispering. Im listening on my phone, and it only goes up so loud. The British upper classes seem to have a way of mumbling, that makes it hard to hear them.

[@seankilburn7200]

Turn on captions. They’re not perfect but they aren’t too bad on this video.

[@ClementinesCoins]

then maybe get headphones, the volume is fine for me and i only have it half way

[@teambridgebsc691]

Delicious maps. Erudite but humble history guy and humble royal archivist, a delightful combination.

[@emmettred]

LOVE MAPS OF ALL KINDS

[@michaelmcnally1242]

The "maps" room at the army museum in Paris, while French of course, is definitely worth a visit. The whole museum is a little boring unless you like looking at 10,000 suits of armor, but the maps are kind-of beyond belief. I won't give away the details, just go.

[@Andy-br1hq]

I live near Yorktown Virginia and it appears based on the map of the siege and google earth that the field where the British lay down their arms is now woods.

[@MamaBethsWorld]

I’d love to work there!!!

[@maximejoskin4316]

wait, I can go and look at maps that was originally exclusive to nobility? what a treat!

[@flipmash1207]

Two historians subtlety flexing that they know about the battle of cullodan

[@amazinggrace5692]

How lucky are we to have these beautiful maps! 💕🐝💕🇺🇸

[@jomarabelguilas3945]

People of Paradox strategy game unite

[@peterpierce9233]

Ok. So, When I finally visit the UK, Where Can I stay while I spend a Week looking at this collection??!!!

[@manmaje3596]

Nowhere. The royal archives are off limits to all unless you are a scholar and have been invited.

[@samiam619]

I’m sure someone will be glad to put you up for a week! Have you written to the proper office yet?

[@legiox3719]

Man I love history. I could stay there for days looking at all those maps.

[@wayneantoniazzi2706]

You could lock me in that room for the rest of my life and I'd never be bored!

[@sunsettersix6993]

I could spend years and years in that room just looking at maps!

[@sunsettersix6993]

"The Dunkirk of the American Revolution (War for Independence)", such an appropriate description!

[@PortmanRd]

Well done George.

[@whartonbizzo]

Thanks!

[@jinz0]

nice

[@joeyricefried9621]

This channel is so so good!!

[@Charners]

Absolutely fascinating 👏

[@Bren-ms3ml]

truly fascinating..

[@nickjamesbixch5367]

Well hello there

[@jmc7034]

What an amazing collection

[@dolltall]

Oh My !!!

[@IdleByte]

Hearing the phrase "But it was too late" in relation to the hope of preventing birth of my nation is a bit disconcerting...

[@littlebigplanet321]

1:00 why does everyone act like they come in to a room when the camera is already there. man its just so unbelievably dumb. hoped it was to dumb to spread from USA

[@JRLeeman]

He probably should have shared this stash with the generals he sent to America…

[@CarneyAsada101]

Whoever produces this should try to modernize. Fake entering the room for the first time feels very old and awkward. Abnormal human behavior

[@danichicago9140]

How did those maps work out for him? Hope they were drawn in pencil

[@BJJISTHEGAYPARTOFMMA]

What’s that supposed to mean?

[@JohnyG29]

Why does it matter if they were drawn in pencil?

[@Pretermit_Sound]

Most of these maps were made after the battles had been fought/concluded. So your comment makes no sense. Maybe pay a little closer attention next time 🤷‍♂️

[@iracingrookie3301]

It is a shame these maps are hidden away in the queens castle. I love our monarchy but they hoard things that should be in public museums

[@manmaje3596]

It’s trough their expert knowledge in the field of conservation and preservation that keeps the collection In pristine condition.

[@rileykiller5]

They’re available free online and they allow scholars to study them. Also it’s King George iii personal collection which would of been inherited by the queen making them her personal map collection which means she could do whatever she wants with them as every person has the right to do with their stuff.

[@raftonpounder6696]

All the gear. No idea.

[@manmaje3596]

That’s the Americans my friend.

[@raftonpounder6696]

@@manmaje3596 well George III lost the Colonies to the Americans so I doubt that.

[@Arima174]

Just think about how much loot those bandits have in their castle . After all they were all over the world killing people, enslaving them and looting riches of others.

[@samiam619]

So… Which colony/subjugated land are you from?

[@Badger1776]

Hello there.

[@Ugly_German_Truths]

That they made these available online is incredible. Kudos for the curators!