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Product Description
In this fascinating history of the British surveys of India, Matthew H. Edney relates how imperial Britain used modern survey techniques to not only create and define the spatial image of its Empire, but also to legitimate its colonialist activities.
"There is much to be praised in this book. It is an excellent history of how India came to be painted red in the nineteenth century. But more importantly, Mapping an Empire sets a new standard for books that examine a fundamental problem in the history of European imperialism."—D. Graham Burnett, Times Literary Supplement
"Mapping an Empire is undoubtedly a major contribution to the rapidly growing literature on science and empire, and a work which deserves to stimulate a great deal of fresh thinking and informed research."—David Arnold, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History
"This case study offers broadly applicable insights into the relationship between ideology, technology and politics. . . . Carefully read, this is a tale of irony about wishful thinking and the limits of knowledge."—Publishers Weekly
Amazon.com Review
Mapping an Empire is a marvelous manifestation of the interconnectedness of things. On the one hand, it is a book about a specific historical episode in which an unknown area was mapped. Yet in the course of exploring this topic, Matthew Edney touches on a huge variety of historical, cultural, political, and scientific issues. As his opening sentence states, "Imperialism and mapmaking intersect in the most basic manner"; in order to "possess" or even comprehend a territory, one must map it. As he investigates the century-long British effort to "transform a land of incomprehensible spectacle into an empire of knowledge," Edney examines the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of cartography, maps as power politics, technical aspects of surveying, the arcane operations and internal politics of the British East India Company, and much more. The book is illustrated with beautifully executed maps, charts, and tables, and is annotated with extensive source notes, a bibliography, and an excellent index. Laypeople may find parts of Mapping an Empire dense going, but their perseverance will be rewarded by an illuminating cross- disciplinary study; students of cartography will likely find this book invaluable.
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