What is it about?
This article explores the influence of investment on the patterns of mapping in British colonial Africa. Different groups--such as the government, private mapping bodies, scientists, and mining companies-- had different ideas about how maps would increase the efficiency of their work. Through analysing which maps were eventually produced, (and which weren't), we can begin to see which groups and which strategies had most effect.
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Why is it important?
In the context of the global land grab, it is vitally important to understand the historical relationship between governmental geographical knowledge, and private investment. The British considered the mapping of colonial territories to be a fundamental part of good government, and also key to making the colonies productive. However, mapping projects were very uneven- some areas were documented in detail and regularly, others hardly at all. These patterns of detail and absence of knowledge continue to have an effect on Zambia today.
Perspectives
This article outlines a key argument from my PhD thesis-- that we need to consider the economic cost of knowledge production when trying to understand how governments make decisions.
Dr Elizabeth V Haines
Royal Holloway University of London
Read the Original
This page is a summary of: ‘Pledging the future’: Investment, risks and rewards in the topographic mapping of Northern Rhodesia, 1928–1955, Environment and Planning A Economy and Space, August 2015, SAGE Publications,
DOI: 10.1177/0308518x15594808.
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