Historical Geographical Information Systems (GIS) have the potential to significantly enhance our understanding of the past. They can be deployed in a variety of ways. Associating disparate research materials in space and time can increase and enhance information sources. Maps or data visualisations graphically show what can be hidden in text or statistical tables. Spatial analysis of historical data can appreciably add to historiographies. However, software and methodological limitations mean the
practitioners of historical GIS face many challenges. This paper examines current developments in historical GIS and reflects on the Electronic Cultural Atlas Initiative's role in this progress. GIS can allow countries, regions or localities to be discovered in new ways.