Short History of the Cartography of Africa

Drawing on the recent work of historians of Africa, this volume questions the contemporary wisdom about maps of Africa. This book suggests that the history of African cartography has been misinterpreted. The transformation or revolution in the evolving cartography occurred not in the eighteenth century, as much of the literature suggests, but with the imposition of colonial rule, and continued through five or six decades, when map makers responded to totally new requirements. The text reviews the cartography of Africa and its associated literature from earliest times. Detailed studies of the cartographic histories of the former British colonial territories of Zambia, Swaziland and Botswana, from pre-colonial times to independence and beyond, support the author's premise.