Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843 [Hardcover]

Matthew H. Edney (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 2, 1997

In this fascinating history of the British surveys of India, Matthew H. Edney relates how imperial Britain used modern survey techniques to not only create and define the spatial image of its Empire, but also to legitimate its colonialist activities.

"There is much to be praised in this book. It is an excellent history of how India came to be painted red in the nineteenth century. But more importantly, Mapping an Empire sets a new standard for books that examine a fundamental problem in the history of European imperialism."—D. Graham Burnett, Times Literary Supplement

"Mapping an Empire is undoubtedly a major contribution to the rapidly growing literature on science and empire, and a work which deserves to stimulate a great deal of fresh thinking and informed research."—David Arnold, Journal of Imperial and Commonwealth History

"This case study offers broadly applicable insights into the relationship between ideology, technology and politics. . . . Carefully read, this is a tale of irony about wishful thinking and the limits of knowledge."—Publishers Weekly

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Mapping an Empire is a marvelous manifestation of the interconnectedness of things. On the one hand, it is a book about a specific historical episode in which an unknown area was mapped. Yet in the course of exploring this topic, Matthew Edney touches on a huge variety of historical, cultural, political, and scientific issues. As his opening sentence states, "Imperialism and mapmaking intersect in the most basic manner"; in order to "possess" or even comprehend a territory, one must map it. As he investigates the century-long British effort to "transform a land of incomprehensible spectacle into an empire of knowledge," Edney examines the philosophical and intellectual underpinnings of cartography, maps as power politics, technical aspects of surveying, the arcane operations and internal politics of the British East India Company, and much more. The book is illustrated with beautifully executed maps, charts, and tables, and is annotated with extensive source notes, a bibliography, and an excellent index. Laypeople may find parts of Mapping an Empire dense going, but their perseverance will be rewarded by an illuminating cross- disciplinary study; students of cartography will likely find this book invaluable.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 480 pages
• Publisher: University Of Chicago Press; First Edition edition (September 2, 1997)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0226184870
• ISBN-13: 978-0226184876
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.4 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (1 customer review)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,220,504 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

5 of 5 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars The Map Controls the Territory, July 2, 2007

By 

C. W. Johnson (Canberra, Australia) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Mapping an Empire: The Geographical Construction of British India, 1765-1843 (Paperback)

This book is quite tough going for the non-specialist. But it rewards with description of the earlier forms of map-making by plane table, the shift in perception of territory and space from the route map to the triangulated survey map. It gives strong description of history of the British East India Company through its governance and its information system- the flow of descriptive information over the administrative links between India and England. It goes several steps further in conceptual depth than The Great Arc (a more popular and accessible history of the triangulation survey phase of mapping India). The academic theorising detracts from a reading of technology and administration - but the whole book leaves a lasting impression. Place this story of growing systematisation and control through measurement and mapping against the exploits of soldiers and residents, wars and political campaigns, John Masters' great series of novels, and you get a great enlargement of vision of the eighteenth and nineteenth century subcontinent; finish up with Building The Railways of the Raj 1850-1900 [Ian J. Kerr] for another stimulating contrast of the ideologies of economic control and engineering control and development with the imaginary grids and connecting lines made real, and essential to twentieth century India.