Mapping a Continent: Cartography, Exploration, and the Knowledge Networks of North America MTA
Maps, Surveys, and Scientific Expeditions that Shaped Territorial Claims and Identities

About this book:

"Mapping a Continent: Cartography, Exploration, and the Knowledge Networks of North America" explores how maps have profoundly shaped the continent's history, from Indigenous place-knowledge to modern digital mapping. The book argues that maps are not merely objective representations but active instruments of power, used by various entities—Indigenous peoples, European empires, and nascent nation-states—to define territory, assert claims, manage resources, and construct identities. It traces the evolution of cartographic practices, highlighting the interplay between scientific advancement, political ambition, and the diverse perspectives of those who made and used maps.

The narrative begins by examining sophisticated Indigenous mapping traditions, which encoded travel, kinship, and sacred relations through oral histories, wampum belts, and land-based practices, demonstrating that North America was far from a blank slate. It then pivots to European charting traditions, from practical portolan charts to the mathematical precision of Ptolemaic projections, and how these systems were adapted to claim vast new territories for Spain, France, and Britain. The book details the instrumental role of surveying in imperial expansion, such as the Mason-Dixon Line, which resolved colonial disputes and inadvertently laid the groundwork for future ideological divides.

Key themes include the shift towards scientific precision in mapping, driven by Enlightenment ideals and instruments like the chronometer and theodolite, which facilitated the systematic exploration and division of the continent. The book also highlights how cartography was shaped by economic forces like the fur trade, leading to intricate maps of river systems and portages, and later by the demand for resource extraction, producing detailed geological and hydrographic surveys. Railroads further transformed the cartographic landscape, creating "time-space maps" that compressed distances and facilitated corporate land acquisition.

Later chapters delve into the use of maps in defining national identity, from the Revolutionary War's military cartographies to the ambitious Public Land Survey System that gridded the American West, often at the expense of Indigenous lands. The book also examines the U.S.-Mexico boundary survey, a testament to the arduous process of formalizing international borders, and how urban mapping, particularly through zoning and redlining, codified racial and economic segregation. The rise of aerial photography and satellite remote sensing further revolutionized mapping, providing an unprecedented "view from above" that enabled the modern survey state and, more recently, digital cartography like GIS, which allows for complex data analysis and citizen engagement.

Finally, the book concludes by exploring the "afterlives of maps," from their preservation in archives and display as art to their use in contemporary counter-mapping movements. It emphasizes the ethical dimensions of representation, particularly as Indigenous communities and social justice advocates use maps to challenge dominant narratives and assert sovereignty. Ultimately, "Mapping a Continent" reveals how maps have always been powerful arguments, continually shaping and reshaping North America's physical, political, and social landscapes, reflecting both historical power dynamics and ongoing struggles for recognition and justice.

What You'll Find Inside:

• Indigenous mapping systems encoded place-knowledge through oral traditions, wampum belts, and landscape-based practices long before European contact.
• European empires employed cartography—from portolan charts to scientific surveys—as a tool to assert territorial claims and manage colonial expansion.
• The Enlightenment drive for precision in latitude, longitude, and triangulation turned maps into instruments of empire, facilitating dispossession and market creation.
• Advances from aerial photography to satellite remote sensing accelerated mapping’s speed and scale, embedding it in state power and resource extraction.
• Indigenous and activist counter-mapping uses modern GIS and traditional knowledge to challenge dominant cartographic narratives and assert sovereignty.

Who's It For:

This book is ideal for scholars and students of history, geography, Indigenous studies, environmental studies, and cartography, as well as general readers interested in understanding how maps have shaped North American territorial claims, identities, and power relations from pre-contact times to the digital age.