Essay Draft

What exactly is a map? A map is a visual representation of the world. According to Google, a map “is a symbolic depiction emphasizing relationships between elements of some space, such as objects, regions, or themes.” At the beginning of the text “Metaphors of the World” by Turchi, it was said that “the earliest maps created were used to help people navigate through uncharted territories in an attempt to reduce the fear of the unknown” (Turchi 11). When navigating through the world using maps, people wanted to know the locations deemed as sustaining (such as hunting grounds or sources of water), or hazardous (such as enemy territories). But maps are so much more than just simple tools that help guide us. They offer explanations for the unknown, encourage us to explore unknown terrains, and inspire us to question the wonders around us. For example, the Chinese myth regarding how the moon came to be, is told amongst children as an explanation for a mystery. Chang E, a regular human being, who stole the elixir of immortality from the Queen Mother of the West, drank and fled to the heavens where she then became the spirit of the moon. The creation of stories to explain the unknowns, similar to the makings of a cartographer. A cartographer is, in other words, a person who creates maps. Using both art and science, these are the people who chart the world, graphing different terrestrial terrains with their maps. The creation of a map stems from a thirst for knowledge, and being able to chart a graph stems from the third for adventure. The map fills the reader with a drive for knowledge, showcasing a world in which the reader may hopefully seek out learn the uncertain, to find and discover new areas the map doesn’t cover. A cartographer is essentially an artist, always improving and developing their techniques to convey their discoveries through a map. The map is essentially the cartographer’s voice, a means of expressing their personal viewpoints of the world. Their work created is the reader’s guide, with the various routes and landscapes that are illustrated in detail helping the reader navigate about the world. It isn’t so much about where the map takes the reader, but more so about the journey of getting there. A map is merely a decoration for exploration, a tool to help them navigate, to encourage and inspire the reader to navigate the unexplored. The map’s isn’t just to encourage readers to adventure, but it also provides political and social biases as well. In the texts with Harley, it is shown offered as an insight into social prejudice. Most cartographers use maps to speak to targeted audiences, to convince them to listen to their viewpoints. These kinds of maps intend to employ authority, often times the creation of these maps is commissioned by the government, trying to indoctrinate the readers to abide by their values and viewpoints. In Harley’s text, he believes that instead of the stereotypical definition of a map, it should be seen as a document with relations to power, cultural practices, personal bias, and priorities. A map is never truly neutral, there always lies an underlying prejudice of a cartographer arguing their own beliefs. For example, a map “were designed as administrative or jurisdictional records, for defense, for economic development, or

perhaps as general works of topographical reference” (Harley 39). However, cartographers rarely make decisions that are void of financial, military, or political influences. There are a lot of factors that go into the creation of a map, with cartographers having to dedicate a lot of time and money to it. With this comes the factor of patrons, consequently making the map imbued with a social dynamic to it as well. Depending on the cartographer, there is another important factor in how powerful the patron is. The more influential the patron, the bigger the influence is as the patron oversees the cartographer’s work. “In the creation of a map, there is possibilities of error, omission, personal bias, and even misrepresentations abounded. Even in today’s machine-generated maps there are hints of bias and error.” (Harley 41) The role of patronage varies depending on the era of when the maps were created. For example, with the creation of earlier maps during the era of European exploration, patrons were often powerful members of the royal family. As time progressed the patrons shifted towards more modern-day patrons such as “The General Land Office and the United States Geological Survey.” The map has always represented something more than merely a physical image of a location. It’s what has provided beliefs, ceremonies, authorities, and more. It’s what has helped many explorers chart through the world, reducing the fear of the unknown to make it more manageable. It’s what has fueled a person’s drive for knowledge and adventure.