Every map tells a story and this book tells the incredible history of our world through maps.
From Babylonian tablets to digital mapping, the world has evolved rapidly, along with the ways in which we understand and depict it. In this time, cartography has not only kept pace with these changes, but has often driven them. In this fully revised and updated edition spanning more than 4,500 years, each individual map provides a unique visual insight into our past.
This beautifully designed collection includes many famous examples of cartography, along with some that deserve to be better known. Witness countries and cities come and go, empires rise and fall, significant geographical discoveries, and key historical events unfold.
Key maps shown include:
Babylonian clay tablets, c.2300 BC and c.600 BC some of the worlds oldest surviving maps Hereford Mappa Mundi, c. 1290 medieval map of the world Aztec City Maps 1524/1541 precious images of the Aztec capital and their migrations before the Spanish came Cook Chart of New Zealand, 1770 the first complete chart of the coastline showing that New Zealand was made up of two islands Selden Map of China, c. 1620 Ming map of China and South-east Asia The Scramble for Africa, 1852/1898 the European powers rush to colonise Africa Booth Poverty Map, 1898 mapping deprivation in Victorian London Ypres, 1918 mapping the deaths in one of the First World Wars bloodiest battles Cuban Missile Crisis, 1962 map used by President John F. Kennedy during the crisis COVID map, 2021 a map of the Global Pandemic
