The European Commission of the Danube was an early experiment in international organization. It was established in 1856, after the Crimean War, by agreement among Britain, Austria, France, Prussia, Russia, Sardinia, and Turkey. The Danube River rises in the Black Forest of Germany and travels some 3,000 kilometers before reaching the Black Sea. The commission was charged with overseeing projects to improve navigation on the river, one of which was the construction, in 1880-1902, of the Sulina Canal. The headquarters of the commission was established at Galatz (Galaţi), Romania, at that time part of the Ottoman Empire. Charles Hartley of Great Britain was appointed chief engineer. Hartley made the early drafts of these maps in connection with the construction of the canal which, when completed, shortened the route to the sea via the Sulina arm of the Danube delta, the river’s main navigation channel.