I'm an absolute beginner in map making.
I want to create digital maps with European historic borders that all have the same projection and style. All the data should be vectorized.
My idea is to have a blank digital map on which I draw the borders. To create the borders I take an existing map that shows the historic borders.
My questions:
Is there a collection of hgis data (freely) available so that I don't have to do it myself?
Is there a good tutorial for my task?
How do I map the map showing historic borders to the blank map?
How do I copy the border map? Should I use a tablet an pin a print of the map on it?