Make an alternate history map
Start from the real borders of a year, then change history: copy an empire as shapes, push its borders, merge or split states, and name your new world.
- Free
- No account
- Real borders to start from
- 3000 BC to today
Layers
Eraser
What it does
Erase from
Start from the real borders of a year, then change history: copy an empire as shapes, push its borders, merge or split states, and name your new world.
What you can make
Europe in 1914The borders of 1914, with the first moves of the First World War drawn over them.
A rail trip across EuropeEight cities by train, with numbered markers and a dashed route.
How far from Delhi?Circles of 250, 500 and 1,000 km measured on the globe, with the cities inside them.
The euro area in 2026Countries coloured in with two legend colours: 21 use the euro, 6 EU members keep their own currency.
What you can do
Every drawing tool
Markers, text, lines, arrows, curved arrows, areas, boxes, circles, a freehand pen and a measuring tool.
Any year, 3000 BC to today
Move the timeline and the borders change with it. Give a drawing a start and end year and it appears only then.
Colour in countries
Tap countries, states, provinces or empires to colour them, with a legend of colours and patterns you can rename.
Real data underneath
Cities, rivers, voyages, World Heritage Sites, tectonic plates and more, ready to copy into your drawing.
True distances and areas
Circles of an exact radius, distances and areas, measured along the curve of the Earth.
Share and export
A link to share, PNG for slides, PDF for print, and GeoJSON, KML or GPX for other mapping tools.
How it works
Choose the year
The map opens on Europe in 1914; type any year from 3000 BC to today in the year box to start elsewhere.
Copy the states you change
With the Select tool, tap an empire and choose "Copy into my drawing". Its outline becomes an area you can reshape point by point.
Redraw and recolour
Drag borders, cut and lift areas out with Cut out, colour your new states and give each a name in the legend.
Tell the story
Arrows for invasions, markers for battles, labels for treaties. Export the map or share a link to it.
Data you can cite
- Natural EarthPublic domainCountries, coastlines and the simple base map
- Cliopatria (Seshat)CC BY 4.0Borders of 1,600+ states and empires, 3000 BC to today
- OpenStreetMapODbLStreets and places on the detailed base maps
- geoBoundariesOpen licences, per countryDistrict lines inside countries
Every exported picture prints the credits of the data on it. All sources: data sources.
Your maps stay yours
- Your map is saved in this browser as you draw. No account, no sign-in.
- Files you open (GeoJSON, KML, GPX, CSV) are read in your browser and never uploaded.
- A short link stores a copy of the map only when you make one, so the link works for anyone you send it to.
- What you draw is yours to use in lessons, articles, books and slides; keep the data credits on it.
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Questions
Do I have to draw every border myself?
No. Copy the real states of the year as shapes and change only what differs in your timeline; the rest of the map stays as it was.
Are the starting borders accurate?
They are Cliopatria's reconstruction of each year (Seshat Global History Databank, CC BY 4.0), good for who held which region rather than exact frontier lines.
Is YearMaps Draw free?
Yes. Drawing, sharing links and exporting PNG, PDF, GeoJSON, KML and GPX files are all free, with no account. Exported pictures carry a small @yearmaps.com mark and the credits of the data on the map.
Do I need an account to save my map?
No. Your map is saved in your browser as you draw. To keep it elsewhere, share its link, or save a YearMaps file and open it again later from the File menu.
Can I use the maps I make?
Yes. The map belongs to you, in school work, articles, presentations and books. Keep the data credits printed on the picture: the borders come from Cliopatria (CC BY 4.0) and the base map from Natural Earth (public domain).
Can I import my own data?
Yes. Open or drop GeoJSON, KML, KMZ (Google Earth) and GPX (GPS) files onto the map. They are read in your browser and never uploaded.
More ways to use it
- Make a historical mapChoose a year, see the empires and states of that moment, and draw your own history over them: campaigns, trade routes, battles, borders and notes.
Map of Europe in 1914Europe on the eve of the First World War, with the empires of 1914, ready to colour by alliance and mark with fronts, battles and dates.
World map in 1500The world as the age of discovery began: the Ming, Ottoman, Safavid, Aztec and Inca empires, ready to colour and to draw the voyages on.
Map of Europe in 1939Europe as the Second World War began, ready to colour by side and mark with invasions, fronts and dates.- Colour a map of countriesTap countries to colour them, build a legend with names and patterns, and switch between the world, a continent or a country by its states.
- Make your own mapA free map maker in the browser.
Every map page on YearMaps has a Draw on this map button in its Share panel, which opens the same view here. See what's new in YearMaps Draw.