Today we tend to think of the borders of countries as pretty well set. Most of us can recognize some countries just by their outlines on a map, and we consider it unlikely that these shapes will change very much in our lifetimes. However, political borders--the borders around countries--are not based on any fact of geography. Instead, they're drawn up and decided by the people with the most political power.

Many types of historical events can change the way maps look. A wealthy country might simply buy someone else's land--or move quietly into an area and create trade centers, and then colonies. Other changes to political boundaries are the result of all-out war. And sometimes, countries are sliced up and shared like giant pizzas between more powerful nations. This last method was used by the Empress of Russia, Catherine the Great, to add part of Poland to her empire at the end of the 18th century.

After helping her ex-boyfriend, Stanisław Poniatowski, become the King of Poland, Catherine the Great was annoyed to learn that he actually wanted to save the failing country. Not wanting any nearby democracies to threaten her own rule, Catherine decided to declare herself the "Protector" of Poland. This enraged the Poles and caused widespread anti-Russian uprisings in Poland, which gave Catherine an excuse to destroy the rebels and weaken Poland even further. As Empress of Russia, Catherine had the political power to persuade Poland's neighbors, Prussia and Austria, to divide Poland among the three of them. Together, they wiped the country off the map for the next 123 years.

Maps can provide very useful illustrations for historical events like Catherine's very effective political attacks on Poland. Click through this series of maps to see how three more powerful (and greedy) countries absorbed Poland piece by piece in just a few short decades.