Parent's Guide to Pets: On The Map

Friday 7 March 2014

On The Map

My favourite topic, and Simon Garfield's book is providing me with plenty of wonderful thoughts for my amusement in Leicester Traffic Jams.

The first is the word 'orientation' as in 'map orientation.' This comes from the time when maps were orientated with the east at the top (the orient), pointing to Jerusalem. Jerusalem was actually in the middle of the map, but all 'direction in life' should be found by looking east, unless you live in Amman, where west would be best.

The second is the the origin of the name ' America'. Appropriately it appears that the continents - first south, then north, were named after Amerigo Vespucci, a financier of a Columbus trip. How appropriate for the banker to get the sponsorship deal, like some vast football stadium. America is the feminine version, to join Europa and Asia. I also read about a Bristolian who supported the theory than another Bristolian financier supplied the name, with the money. A certain Richard Amerike of Long Ashton (of the cider fame...) http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Richard_Amerike. http://www.bbc.co.uk/history/british/tudors/americaname_01.shtml

The third is the discovery of the Island of California http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Island_of_California. Apparently for many hundreds of years, a famous map, which tidied up California, by believing it was an island, rather than a peninsula, perpetuated the myth of California as an island. It was only put right in the early 19th century. Simon also notes that Moses appeared on one early map with horns. In a similar way, a mistranslation of the Hebrew has him descending from Mount Sinai 'horned' rather than 'shining' (geren). I was struck by the need, just as in maps, for translations of religious texts such as the bible, to be compared with the reality, just as a trip to California is needed to sort out the island issue.

The world lit up by facebook connections around the world.

The Waldseemuller Map. Possibly the first commercial map to
name the Americas

Gerrymandering- What a wonderful story. Apparently the term comes from a certain New York Senator and one time vice president Governor Gerry, who supported a bid to change some constituency boundaries to increase seats for the Democratic-Republican Party against the Federalist Party.. Over a dinner party, the new map was likened to a Salamander, which soon became a Gerrymander. The Newspapers had great fun, and Gerry lost his seat. Interestingly we pronounce Gerrymandering with a hard 'J', rather than after the Governors name, which perhaps saves his blushes.