Josep Aparici i Fins is one of the most important geographers of 18th-century Catalonia, and at the same time, he is surrounded by controversy. During the War of the Spanish Succession, the Austrian authorities commissioned him to create the map of Catalonia and, after the war, he placed himself at the service of King Philip V, who granted him the title of Geographer to His Majesty. Furthermore, he was one of the main collaborators in the implementation of the cadastre, a measure that was detrimental to the Catalan economy. But, despite everything, his career has been considered ambiguous.