History of the World Map by Map also explains how elements of civilization, such as writing, printing, and tool-making, came into being and spread from one country to another. It tells of the rise of the world's great religions and of human endeavour such as the voyages of early explorers. It charts stories of adversity such as the abolition of slavery, and shows how people have always migrated for a better life, from the very first humans moving across Africa, to millions of 19th-century Europeans crossing the Atlantic in search of the American dream. A modern reproduction of the Hereford Mappa Mundi. Europe is in the lower left quadrant. Universal History Archive // Getty Images You know there were people living throughout North America before Columbus stumbled upon Hispaniola in 1492, but you may be surprised by the maps that show the volume of settlements by a diverse number of native cultures across the current U.S. and Latin America. As the Renaissance dawned, maps began to improve. Commerce demanded it—ships were crossing oceans, and kings engaged in empire-building needed to chart their lands. Technology drove maps to greater accuracy: The advent of reliable compasses helped create “portolan” maps, which had lines crisscrossing the sea from port to port, helping guide sailors. Ptolemy’s ancient work was rediscovered, and new maps were drawn based on his thousand-year-old calculations.

Most certainly—because it already has. Three thousand years ago, our ancestors began a long experiment in figuring out how they fit into the world, by inventing a bold new tool: the map. This stunning visual reference book starts with the evolution and migration of our oldest ancestors out of Africa. You can then look up maps about the Greece and Persian War, the Mongol Conquests, Medieval Europe's trade routes, and the rise of the Ottomans. There are maps about the colonisation of North America, the scientific revolution, Napoleon's advances, and Britain's control of India. There's more in later centuries, such as the Age of Imperialism, the American Civil War, industrialised Europe and the transformation of Japan. As sea trade increased, maps of the New World became better, at least the seacoasts and major rivers, places the beaver trade depended on. The inland of America was mostly a mystery; mapmakers often draw it as a big blank space labeled “terra incognita.” Maps weren’t just symbols of power: They conferred power. With a good map, a military had an advantage in battle, a king knew how much land could be taxed. Western maps showing Africa’s interior as empty—the mapmakers had little to go on—gave empires dreamy visions of claiming Africa for themselves: All that empty space seemed, to them, ripe for the taking. Maps helped propel the depredations of colonialism, as Simon Garfield argues in On the Map. Is it possible that today’s global positioning systems and smartphones are affecting our basic ability to navigate? Will technology alter forever how we get around?

Maps are overlaid with panels of text and information-rich graphics, for a deeper understanding of each episode

Manhattan was Fairchild’s second first aerial survey. His first, a map of Newark, New Jersey, failed to gain notice. Library of Congress, Geography and Map Division This stunning history book for adults starts with the evolution and migration of our oldest ancestors out of Africa. You can then look up maps about the Greece and Persian War, the Mongol Conquests, Medieval Europe’s trade routes, and the rise of the Ottomans. Explore maps about the colonisation of North America, the scientific revolution, Napoleon’s advances, and Britain’s control of India. Then uncover the history of later centuries, such as the Age of Imperialism, the American Civil War, industrialised Europe and the transformation of Japan.

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While, for an avid historian, it presents little, if anything, that is new, what it does present is so attractively done that it seductively entices you to read it, cover to cover. It is a fascinating book even for the serious historian who may well have “seen it all”. It is equally attractive to readers of all ages from about ten and above. After the Roman Empire fell, Ptolemy’s realistic geography was lost to the West for almost a thousand years. Once again, maps were concerned more with story­telling: A famous 12th-century map made by the Islamic scholar al-Sharif al-Idrisi—commissioned by his protector and patron, King Roger II of Sicily, a Christian—neatly blended Islamic and Christian cities together, while centering the world on (of course) Roger’s landholdings. Maps don't just show us where to go, but also where we've been. A stunning overview of all human history, side by side with 140 custom maps. B R O N Z E A G E C O L L A P S E 43 Invaders from the sea A relief from the temple of Pharaoh Rameses III shows captive warriors of the Peleset, one of the Sea Peoples who invaded Egypt. The Peleset later settled the Levant, where they came to be known as the Philistines. Environment Digimap includes land cover data for 1997, 2000 and 2007 from the Centre of Ecology and Hydrology.

Learn how something like the printing press can define a time, or how the Allies in Europe could defeat the Nazis. There is so much to read about in this remarkable history book, and just as much to look at. Indeed, everyday people were realizing that a map was an act of persuasion, a visual rhetoric. In 1553, gentry in Surrey, England, drew a map of the town’s central fields, to prove these were common lands—and that villagers thus should be allowed to graze animals there. The map, they wrote, would allow for “the more playne manifest and direct understondying” of the situation. Maps, says Rose Mitchell, a map archivist at the National Archives of the U.K., were “used to settle arguments.” Meanwhile, educated people began collecting maps and displaying them “to show off how knowledgeable they were,” she adds. Even if you couldn’t read the words on a map from a foreign country, you could generally understand it, and even navigate by it. The persuasive power of a map was its glanceability. It was data made visual. Farming presented as progress--no admission that it was resorted to only when the abundant game was gone. As much as is included, though, no book can cover every possible historical topic. One examkple that was surprisingly missing was mention of "The Troubles" in Northern Ireland during the 20th Century caused by the oppression of Catholics by the Protestant authorities and business class.THE ANCIENT WORLD ANCIENT HISTORY STRETCHES FROM WHEN THE FIRST CITIES DEVELOPED AROUND 3000 BCE TO THE FALL OF POWERS SUCH AS THE ROMAN EMPIRE AND HAN CHINA IN THE FIRST CENTURIES CE. Mercator’s projection was inspired by the accuracy of portolan maps. DEA PICTURE LIBRARY/De Agostini/ // Getty Images Aerial Digimap includes aerial imagery in a single seamless coverage, captured since 2000, at 12.5 cm resolution (nationally) and 5 cm (selected areas). Maps don’t just show us where to go, but also where we’ve been. If you’re interested in finding out more about the biggest events in world history, then this book all about history of the world is perfect for you!

This stunning history book for adults starts with the evolution and migration of our oldest ancestors out of Africa. You can then look up maps about the Greece and Persian War, the Mongol Conquests, Medieval Europe's trade routes, and the rise of the Ottomans. Explore maps about the colonisation of North America, the scientific revolution, Napoleon's advances, and Britain's control of India. Then uncover the history of later centuries, such as the Age of Imperialism, the American Civil War, industrialised Europe and the transformation of Japan.This was becoming the cardinal rule of maps: “No map entirely tells the truth,” notes Mark Monmonier, author of How to Lie With Maps. “There’s always some distortion, some point of view.” This history book reaching across millennia gives you a broad view of the pivotal events in our past. With 140 maps, complimented with pictures, info boxes, and timelines, there's so much to enjoy and learn about. You will gain a strong understanding of some of the forces and movements across continents that have shaped our world.