A Rare Glimpse Into A Historical Landmark…
When I was a little girl I would create maps of our farmland with old napkins left in the truck and designate places that had an important value to me as a child. Whether it be the best spot to dig for worms, the place that denoted a dreaded snake hole, or even an x to mark the hidden treasure. For as long as there have been humans, maps have been crucial to our ability to explore and progress across the world. Obviously as a little girl I was not finding anything of historical value or relevance… but the human desire to discover starts at a young age as noted with not only myself but children everywhere such as William Smith who was born in 1769. Simon Winchester’s The Map that Changed the World mixes together stories of how maps have influenced history. The book recounts the life of British surveyor William Smith, who, in 1815, produced a map that forever altered our perspective of the globe.
William Smith dug canals, but his geological expertise was unprecedented. He was working on a cutting when he came upon a coal deposit that was laid out in orderly rows on progressively lower levels. Realizing that similar fossils could be discovered all across Britain, he began to piece together the complicated sedimentary networks that stretched across hundreds of miles and thousands of years.
Smith saw this occurrence when no one else did and set out to make his groundbreaking map, which came to be regarded as “The Map That Changed The World.” This map was the first attempt to look at Britain’s terrain as a whole, revealing previously unseen elements and patterns. The map provided evidence that some rocks cut through geological layers everywhere in Britain, providing the first definitive evidence that there are extensive, underground networks in England that connect seemingly unrelated areas. In addition, it was a huge benefit to landowners and industrialists financially since it shed light on the best ways to put land to use for agriculture.
Not only did “The Map That Changed The World” revolutionize our knowledge of geology, but it also altered people’s perspectives on their role in the natural world. Many people before Smith’s map thought that natural phenomena were random and unexplainable, but now we can map them using more sophisticated logical concepts gleaned through observation and reasoning.
William Smith’s innovation continues to be a testament to the impact that a single person’s talent and forethought may have even centuries after his death. His groundbreaking work exemplified the transformative power of combining scientific method with creative vision; he proved that a bold new vision of our environment is within reach, provided only that someone has the courage and expertise to make it happen. Both casual readers interested in geography and professional cartographers researching difficult terrain will find value in this book, as it offers a rare glimpse into a historical landmark that remains important even in the era of computerized mapping technology.
I have included a timeline of the development of cartography. This helped me to identify where I was in history while reading and taking notes on this book.
Timeline of the Development of Cartography (1)
- 15th century: German geographer Martin Waldseemüller produces an early world map, the first used for navigation.
- Early 16th century: Contained within its covers is a copy of Waldseemüller’s map – the earliest surviving example of its kind.
- 1570s: Flemish cartographer Abraham Ortelius begins his quest to create a modern atlas which would become known as the Theatrum Orbis Terrarum (Theater of the World).
- 1595: Mercator’s Projection brings circles and squares together on a map by preserving shape and size, making it easier to navigate over long distances such as those facing sailors.
- John Campbell (1720- 1790) a british royal navy and the inventor of the sextant.
- Late 17th century: French geographer Philippe Buache is credited with developing what is now called an “Atlas Mountain” concept where he overlaid survey data onto existing maps in order to draw accurate conclusions about how things were laid out in nature.
- 1815: British surveyor William Smith produces his revolutionary ‘Map That Changed The World’, which unifies Britain’s landscape into a single coherent picture.
- The first instrument of its kind, a sonar, was developed in 1906 by American naval architect Lewis Nixon to detect icebergs.
- American astronaut Neil Armstrong (1930-2012) made history by becoming the first human to set foot on the moon. He participated in both the Apollo 11 (moon landing, 1969) and Gemini 8 space missions.
(1) Kamali, Z. (2023). https://www.sutori.com/en/story/history-of-map-making-timeline–J8X3guC9Cmoif26HLTzDRWfS. Sutori. Retrieved April 2, 2023, from https://www.sutori.com/en/story/history-of-map-making-timeline–J8X3guC9Cmoif26HLTzDRWfS
About the Author
Alana Hayes
Alana is a mother to four beautiful children and wife to a farmer in Texas. She is an avid world traveler with a heart for both the world and education. She is the president of the nonprofit Against the Grain Texas where they focus on providing education to children overseas and at risk adults in the states. To date the nonprofit has given almost $100,000 to individuals around the world. In her free time she loves spending meaningful time with people and reading to further her personal education.One response to “A Rare Glimpse Into A Historical Landmark…”
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Alana,
Great opener….this compelled me to read your post:
“When I was a little girl I would create maps of our farmland with old napkins left in the truck and designate places that had an important value to me as a child.”
When I read this, I thought….”I need to get to my research…who knows what impact it might have?” (Recently I have been having a great deal of doubt that my work will make much of an impact!)
“His groundbreaking work exemplified the transformative power of combining scientific method with creative vision; he proved that a bold new vision of our environment is within reach, provided only that someone has the courage and expertise to make it happen.”
Great job on this post!!
I hope your children are making their own maps of your property, your home, and maybe someday they will make a map of Fred’s. 🙂