I have an application where I need to show historical maps. Is there a way to use the Google API for that, ie show a map of Europe for the year 1800, 1900 etc, with different borders and country names?
I am not particular to any language and also welcome solutions that might not involve the Google API but another library or service
Google doesnt have historic ability built in but it does have code to allow you to tile, zoom and display your own images.
Also take note that for commercial application I beleive you might need to license it.
I am not aware about such functionality in Google Maps right now. However, it should be noted that Google Earth has several historical maps (including a world map from 1790, a 1833 US map, a 1680 map of Tokyo, and a 1716 map of Paris), so chances are they will add this functionality to Google Maps at some point in the future.
Google maps support having different tiles (the map picture) under them. So if you can get a map of 1800 then you can show it in the map (but probably you would need a high resolution map).
And so on.