The Jervis map itself refers to the port at Theodosia as "the best harbor in the peninsula after that of Sevastopol." It is important, for that matter, to dive into why Jervis, and perhaps Semyon Mukhin before him, sought to include such information. The answer lies in the treacherousness of the waters surrounding the Crimean peninsula, where shipwrecks were common (O'Neill 231). The existence of natural inlets and harbors at Sevastopol and Theodosia – protected, spacious, and safe to the point that "no ship was ever known to have been wrecked there" – was indeed vital to Russian imperial interests. Not only did it faciliate trade throughout the region, trade which would become a mainstay of Russia's southern presence in the region, but also gave it a naval/military foothold in the region (O'Neill 232). In the chaos and dangers of the waters surrounding the peninsula in general, the Russian empire indeed found a haven and sanctuary in these port cities, a place in which and from which order could emerge.
