Reshared because some of my favorite circle peeps are mapaholics. #maps
Originally shared by Chris Veerabadran
How the North ended up on top of the map?
Australia is no longer "Down Under" :-)
http://america.aljazeera.com/opinions/2014/2/maps-cartographycolonialismnortheurocentricglobe.html#null
"How the North ended up on top of the map?" -->
ReplyDeleteIs there a simple explanation? Like perhaps because the "magnetic needle" pointed North, and also the winds (especially in the seas) tend to flow N'ly or S'ly and not East or West?
And it is better to point yourself / 'align' yourself/map with the needle 'and' the wind.
So that it will be easier for everyone to orient - on the map and hence on the ground? And out at sea, or travelling the silk road, the N'ly or S'ly winds make orientation easy?
Trade winds, which were important as the name suggests, flowed NE'ly and as anyone who has tried to light a cigarette in a breeze knows, it is easier to do it pointing into the wind rather than away from it.
If it is good for the fag, it must have been good for the mag too! :-D
Why should everything be the 'fault' of northern 'white man'?