Hi, and welcome back to my blog! I know that it has been almost two years since my last post, but a recent event re-sparked my interest in maps, which inspired me to write once again. A lot has happened in the past two years, but to be honest, I kind of stepped away from my cartographic research for a hot minute. However, during that time, I did memorize all of the countries and capitals of the world, so I did not totally abandon my interest (be on the lookout for a blog post relating to that in the near future). Anyways, before starting today's topic, I wanted to preface what the blog will look like as I add more posts. Assuming I am consistent, which is not very likely, I will post about different topics that I researched. Right now, I don't have the time to sit down and draw a whole map, but once school settles down, that will definitely be on my radar. For the time being, my posts will center around my various areas of interest regarding cartography, and I will try to dive deeply into the knowledge of the internet to find the very best information for you. In my previous posts, I feel like I have really focused on the different aspects of map, whether that is the physical features or the ideology behind maps. However, starting with this post, I want to divert my attention to the theoretical side of things and look at the implications that maps can have. Furthermore, I will examine how maps have changed over the course of history and how maps have changed the course of history. I know that was a lot of information coming at you at once, but honestly, all you need to know is that I'm back and better than ever. Now...let's move on to the good part! If you didn't gather this from the title, today I want to talk a little bit about what maps reveal about history. More specifically, I will be examining the perspective that maps convey and how these can be used when both studying history and the practical use of maps. This blog post was inspired by an article recommended to me by a classified reader titled "Reading the History of Manhattan in Its Diagrams, Maps, and Graphics" by Antonis Antoniou and Steven Heller. While I say this is an article, it is actually an excerpt from the authors' book titled Decoding Manhattan. The book provides a collection of maps and other diagrams that work together to tell the history of Manhattan, New York. The excerpt provides several interesting maps that show the complexity of life in Manhattan and construct an interesting narrative. Before I get ahead of myself and start ranting about the intricacy that can be interpreted in maps, I want to put a spotlight on a couple of the maps. The Battery, Manhattan Map (c. 1890): The map above of Manhattan was drawn in the 1890s and displays an interesting perspective of the city. The artist rendered a birds-eye view but also added the 3D elements of buildings and other notable places. What's interesting to me is that the map is clearly not drawn to scale, and specifically, the size of broadway appears larger than it is reality. It also seems like the artist intended to display the important monuments and locations, such as the Statue of Liberty, which would make since because Antoniou and Heller point out that it likely was produced for The Sun. Readers were probably more interested in seeing the various aspects of the city rather than a map of just the streets. When compared to a modern map of the same location, you can see how the city evolved over time, and with this evolution, came a shift in both the focus and function of the maps. Now, I'm sure that there are more artistic maps of this area created in the modern day, but I specifically used a "conventional" map to contrast the two. The main stand out for me upon first glance has to be the prevalence of subway and bus lines, but more discreetly, I find the obvious focus on scale and measurements very telling of the differences between the two maps. The map from the 1890s was likely created to catch the eye of its viewers and highlight important locations while the map from today was likely created for informational purposes and to display different transportation mediums in the city. Both maps tell completely different stories though they display the exact same location, showing the importance of considering intention and perspective when analyzing a map. Harlem, the Walking Tour "Harlem Renaissance: One Hundred Years of History, Art, and Culture" was created by Tony Millionaire (in case you were wondering like I was this is NOT his actual birth name) to depict the Harlem Renaissance in a visual form. From what I know about the rich culture of the era, this map offers a perfect portrayal of the atmosphere and was clearly created to catch one's eye with its bright colors and detailed illustrations. The main purpose of the map was to display important locations associated with notable participants in the renaissance, and the back even gives the address of each place mentioned along with an more in-depth description of its features and history. Compared to the previous map, Millionaire's creation illustrates more of an overall energy rather than just a drawing of the city. This is an example of how the use of maps has changed in the past century. Artists can harness the energy of a location and make the drawings on a piece of paper come to life with meaning. Instead of describing the geographic and infrastructural features, maps are now used as a medium of art to display complex histories and cultures. This offers a perfect segway into our next topic. After finding those maps, I started to think about how maps can tell stories and give insight into the nuances of a time period. This led me to discover an article titled "How Maps Reveal, and Conceal, History" by Susan Schulten, which highlights the value of maps in both recording and interpreting historical situations. Schulten was asked by the British Library Press to create a history of the United States using 100 maps found in their collection, and in her search for the perfect maps, Schulten realized the impact that a map's perspective can have on the story one intends to tell. To illustrate her point, the article includes three unique maps that help to highlight the way maps display perspective. The first map "La Louisiane" was drawn by Guillaume de L'Isle in 1718 for the French king to highlight and reinforce French claims in North America. Moreover, the map is the most accurate depiction of North America up to this point in history. "La Louisiane" shows how maps can be utilized as a means of establishing territorial dominance and authorizing control of a region. Furthermore, the map catalyzed a map war between Britain and France as they fought until the French and Indian War over who possessed different areas of America. Not only does the map show an interesting historical perspective, it acted as an instigator for historical events. The next map was drawn by a Cherokee chief around the same time as the prior map. However, this map reveals a different perspective from the European maps that we usually encounter from this time period. It also challenges the definition of a map, as space is represented by relationships rather than by physical distances. For example, the bigger the circle, the more power that the different tribes holds. The chief created this map strategically, in order to establish trade relations with the South Carolina governor. This demonstrates a maps ability to communicate across cultures to show the advantages of different decisions. The Cherokee map forces us to rethink the history of the United States and maps by introducing a novel perspective to the reader. In her collection of maps, Schulten reveals the map's ability to offer a complex perspective and telling of history that is more understandable than words alone. Because maps are not unbiased representations of history, we can analyze maps to comprehend historical actions and various perspectives. This realization prompted the establishment of a new style of cartography, critical cartography, that works to recognize how power relationships have impacted maps and their boundaries. If you think about it, all maps are decided by the winners, even if they rip territories from innocent peoples. With this, the practice of counter-mapping arose that allows indigenous communities to redraw territorial maps, which will be our next topic, so if you want to learn more about this, stay tuned for my next post. I'm so glad to be back and promise that I will try (emphasis on try) to post regularly. Here's a little poem that I wrote as a teaser :) Dear Map, How can you be So beautiful Yet so menacing So realistic Yet so full of lies So innocent Yet so powerful You're just A piece Of paper Why did you Set the boundaries That define my life That rip the identities From the fallen That display the warped view Of the greedy They're just Imaginary Lines What would you do If I erased Your faulty borders If I drew them All wrong If I took back The life that was Mine All Along
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