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Category Archives: Political
186 – Europe, If the Nazis Had Won
One of the mainstays of speculative history (together with “What if the South had won the US Civil War?”) is: What would the world have looked like if the Nazis had won the Second World War? And yet I’ve never … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, 21st Century Map, Europe, Fictional, Germany, Political, World War II
131 Comments
163 – Europe Wipes Britain off the Map!
The Daily Mail is one of the UK’s more euroskeptic newspapers, so it must have been with much delight that they were able to present this map to their readers on September 4th, 2006. For it falls straight into the … Continue reading
Posted in 21st Century Map, Annexation., British Isles, Europe, Non-Fictional, Political
59 Comments
151- Exclaves of West Berlin (4): Steinstücken and Wüste Mark
Steinstücken is the southernmost part of the Berlin Ortsteil (borough) of Wannsee, almost adjacent to the UFA film studios. From east to west, it’s no more than 500 metres wide, north to south: 300 metres. About 200 people call Steinstücken home. … Continue reading
139 – The Anaconda Plan
“We propose a powerful movement down the Mississippi to the Ocean, with a cordon of posts at proper points (…) the object being to clear out and keep open this great line of communication in connection with the strict blockade … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century Map, America., Non-Fictional, Political, Tactical/Military, USA, Zoomorphic.
11 Comments
138 – The Schlieffen Plan
In 1905, count Alfred von Schlieffen, Chief of Staff of the German Army, developed a plan to win the impending war with France and Russia. In the time it would take Russia to mobilise, a swift campaign on the Western … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Europe, Germany, Non-Fictional, Political, Tactical/Military
16 Comments
136 – New Iceland – A Forgotten Nordic Colony In Canada
When it comes to the discovery and colonization of America, Iceland can claim a longer pedigree than all other European countries. The Icelandic explorer Leif Eriksson (970-1020) was the first European in recorded history to set foot in North America, … Continue reading
133 – New Switzerland – Finally In Need Of A Navy!
In 1900, the famous French writer of adventure stories Jules Verne published ‘Seconde Patrie’ (‘Second Fatherland’) in two parts. Like many works at the end of his life, this adventure story was a revisiting of earlier work, though in this … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Europe, Political, Switzerland, Tactical/Military, World War II
26 Comments
132 – Poland’s Wry-Mouthed Duke
Poland at the time of the death of Boleslav the Wrymouthed 1138: how could one resist a map with a title like that? Not that the map isn’t remarkable in its own right. The starkly contrasting colour scheme with sinuous … Continue reading
Posted in 12th Century Map, Europe, Non-Fictional, Poland, Political
26 Comments
130 – A Ten-State Australia
The Commonwealth of Australia was formed in 1901. Its constitution provides for the creation of new states, also by subdividing extisting ones. Several proposals have been made to alter Australia’s composition, yet no change has been made since the act … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century Map, Australia., Non-Fictional, Political, Proposed
46 Comments
129 – China As A World Power: How Big?
China is flexing its economic muscle nowadays, a process the country itself terms a peaceful rise. One wonders what will happen when China will have ‘risen’: to what degree will China flex its political and military muscle? Will it want … Continue reading
Posted in 21st Century Map, Asia., China, Non-Fictional, Political, Tactical/Military
40 Comments
122 – The Fro Gymraeg, A Reservation For Welsh
English is the dominant language in the British Isles, also in their Celtic fringe – Ireland, Scotland, Wales. In Scotland but mainly in Ireland, some territorial measures have been taken to protect the indigenous language, especially in the areas where … Continue reading
114 – Exclaves of West Berlin (3): the Böttcherberg Troika
The Berlin neighbourhood of Wannsee is situated on an island cut off from the mainland by a number of lakes and canals. Before the unification of both Germanys, the island was the southwesternmost part of West Berlin. But two … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Cold War, Enclaves/Exclaves, Europe, Germany, Non-Fictional, Political
12 Comments
111 – The Comancheria, Lost Homeland of a Warrior Tribe
Under the presidency of Sam Houston (1836-’38, 1841-’44) the then independent Republic of Texas almost came to a peace agreement with the tribal collective known as the Comanche. The Texas legislature rejected this deal, because it did not want to … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century Map, America., Indigenous Peoples, Non-Fictional, Political, Proposed, USA
32 Comments
110 – Cooch Behar: The Mother of All Enclave Complexes
A map that does justice to the strangeness of the Cooch Behar enclave complex risks either to be too big to conveniently post here, or too small to show the intricacies of enclaves and counter-enclaves on both side of … Continue reading
108 – The Geography of France’s Presidential Elections
The frequently fascinating and highly recommended Catholicgauze (“a blog on geography, geographic thought, and cool geography links”) presents an interesting map showing the results of the first round of France’s presidential elections on April 22, 2007. About a dozen … Continue reading
Posted in 21st Century Map, Cultural Fault Lines, Elections, Europe, France, Non-Fictional, Political, Statistics
72 Comments
107 – Asia From Irkutsk
How delicious is this: obviously a sister-map to the one in posting #103 (‘Europe From Moscow’), but this time applying an unusual perspective to the Cold War situation in Asia in the early nineteen fifties. The map, found here at … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Asia., China, Cold War, Non-Fictional, Other Perspectives, Political, Russia, Siberia, Soviet Union
20 Comments
106 – The ‘Bloodless Aroostook War’ and Maine’s Northern Border
“From the northwest angle of Nova Scotia, to wit, that angle which is formed by a line drawn due north from the source of the St Croix River to the highlands, along the said highlands which divide those rivers that … Continue reading
Posted in 18th Century Map, 19th Century Map, America., Annexation., Canada, Maine, Non-Fictional, Political, USA
27 Comments
105 – The Tory Atlas of the World
(click image to enlarge) For me, this might be the original strange map. When I was a kid, I had the Spitting Image book that contained this map. I spent hours (well… whole quarters of hours) poring over it, chuckling away every … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, British Isles, Fictional, Political, Satire, World Map
96 Comments
103 – Europe From Moscow (in 1952)
Perspective and the right choice of colours can help to infuse a map with meaning, this one being a very good example. The map is entitled Europe From Moscow, and was featured in the Time Magazine issue of March 10, … Continue reading
102 – Exclaves of West Berlin (2): Laßzinswiesen
Not much info on this, the third (*) of former West Berlin’s ten tiny enclaves within former East Germany. This website on Berlin exclaves merely mentions that Laßzinswiesen “was an exclave just north of Laßzinssee, only tens of meters from … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Cold War, Enclaves/Exclaves, Europe, Germany, Non-Fictional, Political
18 Comments
100 – A Vulture’s View of Ethiopia
Richard Edes Harrison trained as an architect, but became known as an illustrator for Time (from 1932 onwards) and other national news magazines. His specialty was cartography, applying unusual perspectives and orientations to maps to present information about the global … Continue reading
99 – Exclaves of West Berlin (1): Erlengrund and Fichtewiese
On August 13, 1961, the East German authorities erected a physical barrier in Berlin to prevent their citizens from ‘voting with their’ feet – i.e. fleeing to West Germany. This barrier, consisting of fences, minefields and/or huge blocks of concrete, … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Cold War, Enclaves/Exclaves, Europe, Germany, Non-Fictional, Political
22 Comments
92 – Secret Soviet Plans for the Complete Removal of the North American Continent
This recently unclassified, formerly top secret document released by the Russian State Archives illustrates (quite literally) the lengths the Soviets wanted to go to in order to win the Cold War: not just the defeat of the capitalist USA, but its complete removal off … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Cold War, Fictional, Political, Soviet Union, USA
55 Comments
88 – Neuschwabenland, the Last German Colony
Ever since it achieved unification in 1871, Germany craved colonies as a matter of national pride. But by the late nineteenth century, most of the ‘uncivilised world’ was already carved up by established European powers. In an eleventh-hour effort, the … Continue reading
66 – The World in (George Orwell’s) 1984
In George Orwell’s dystopian novel ‘1984’, the world is ruled by three superstates: • Oceania covers the entire continents of America and Oceania and the British Isles, the main location for the novel, in which they are referred to as … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Fictional, Political, World Map
31 Comments
53 – Ever been gerrymandered?
The painter Gilbert Stuart was inspired by the awkward shape of an electoral district on a map he saw in a newpaper editor’s office. He decorated the snake-shaped district with a head, a set of wings and claws, making it … Continue reading
Posted in 19th Century Map, America., Elections, Non-Fictional, Other Perspectives, Political, Satire, USA, Zoomorphic.
19 Comments
38 – The World According to Ronald Reagan
This parody map shows the world as Ronald Reagan (US president 1980-1988) might have imagined it. Even as parody, it indicates an interesting duality: on the one hand, it presents a view of the world as it no longer is, … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, imaginary, Parody, Political, USA, World Map
38 Comments
9 – Germany wins World War I(French worst case scenario)
What would Europe have looked like, had Imperial Germany won World War One? This image is taken off a French magazine at the start of the war, painting an exaggerated picture of German (and Austro-Hungarian) land-grabs in a Europe dominated … Continue reading
Posted in 20th Century Map, Annexation., Europe, France, Germany, Political, Proposed, Tactical/Military, World War I
65 Comments
8 – Re-drawing the map of the Middle East
The Americans are sinking into a quagmire of their own making in Iraq, but still fantasise about re-drawing the map of the whole Middle East more to their liking. One startling example is this map, produced by the Armed Forces … Continue reading
Posted in 21st Century Map, Arabia., Asia., Cultural Fault Lines, Non-Fictional, Political, Proposed
94 Comments
7 – Greater Albania
The Albanians are descendants of the Illyrians, an ancient Balkan people who preceded the Slavic populations surrounding their native territories. They presently have an independent nation – Albania, in their own language ‘Shqipëtar’, meaning ‘Land of the Eagles’ – but … Continue reading