Although it is quite easy to access maps today, in the past you had to resort to different ways, such as following the stars, to know where you were or where you were going. Although later discoveries and inventions have saved us from such troubles, the subject of space and time has always remained open to discussion.
In the past, the clock system also varied from place to place. Yes, we know; Today, the time is not the same everywhere, but in the times we are talking about, everyone was using their own time. In addition, there were different voices from each mouth on map issues. So how did we arrive at today’s time zones and map shape?
“Let’s get out of the country, follow the coast and map it. What’s the worst that could happen?”
Geographical discoveries began around the 15th century. For this reason, as a traveler, it would not be very wise to embark on such a dangerous journey during this period. This wouldn’t be very consistent for reasons like sizing anyway. Also, if you wanted to stop on this very, very long journey, it was quite possible that there would be confusion.
So it is not something everyone can do to go out and make a map. So these people didn’t use maps?
- high resolution version
Of course they used it. They also used the map you see above, which is way ahead of its time. Fra Mauro, a Venetian monk, made this map without even leaving his monastery. In this process, the priest’s map was completed in 1459, with help from Andrea Bianco, a navigator and cartographer. It’s hard for some to accept, but as we can see, the Earth was round back then too.
Let’s also point out that the map you see above is actually inverted. Due to the calculation methods of the time, the south direction is actually on the hill in Mauro’s map. Below you can see what we are used to. All you have to do is reverse it.
So what changed on the maps when America was discovered?
The map you see above (we recommend looking at the higher resolution link) was prepared by German cartographer Martin Waldseemüller. The map, which appeared in 1507 and is known as Waldseemüller, is known for being the first map to be named America.
There can be two reasons why America is placed on the left:
The first may be the desire to go to the West and discover its riches, which has manifested itself throughout history. It may have been placed on the left on the map since this place was discovered while traveling to the West. But we also know that this is not enough to affect the map issue, which is very critical for maritime trade. If we were to add it just for the sake of adding, America could have taken sides with Russia.
For this reason, we think that the Eurocentric thought system has a role in this. Especially when calculating distances over England, which had a very strong navy and a large volume of maritime trade at that time, it could be a problem for the map to move from its place. Of course, this is a subject that requires a lot of research. Since the two items we have mentioned are our own opinions, we recommend that you look at more detailed sources.
As an example, let’s look at the map of China, which sees the world differently than we are used to:
As you can see on this map, China has placed itself close to the center. In addition, the Americas, Africa, and the rest of Asia lie on the fringes. In the history we learned, the West has been the part that follows the developments and often directs humanity. But this is not the case for China.
Well why?
China is doing what the West is doing. Although it is common today to take the West as an example, it is important to remember China’s inventions in the past such as paper, printing and gunpowder. We can say that they are ahead of themselves with their many inventions and discoveries.
In other words, just as the Eurocentric system of thought puts Europe in the center, China stands out on its map for the same reason.
We briefly touched on how the maps developed. So how did we place the parallels and meridians to understand time and position?
GMT, the clock system we use today, emerged in the 1800s. This abbreviation, which we know as Greenwich Mean Time, entered our lives thanks to the meridian passing over Greenwich in England. But meridians are imaginary lines and you might say “it’s going to be over there”.
Then why did everyone agree on one meridian?
Before this happened, separate clocks were used for each location. In particular, train stations were preparing mixed tables showing what time it was in different locations to show the time difference in destinations. As this affected many things, from the simplest day-to-day chores to internationally critical business, it became necessary to set a common time.
In 1884, 41 representatives from 25 countries met in Washington DC:
It was discussed here where the prime meridian would be, and at the end of the conference Greenwich was chosen by a vote of 22 to 1 as the crossing of the 0 meridian. Here, San Domingo voted against, while France and Brazil chose not to vote.
The reason for this was said to be more beneficial for the majority. Already at that time, Greenwich was seen as the prime meridian in most of the maps used in the maritime field, so it would not be unfamiliar. You can share your thoughts on the subject in the comment section.
Sources: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9
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