Trading Territories: Mapping the Early Modern World

by Jerry Brotton

Trading Territories is a beautifully illustrated book that offers a new account of the status of maps and geographical knowledge in the early modern world. Situating the rise of early modern mapping within the context of the sea-borne commercial adventures of the early maritime empires, Jerry Brotton argues that it was trade, diplomacy, and financial speculation that defined the development of early maps and globes, rather than the disinterested intellectual pursuit of scientific accuracy and objectivity.

Genres: History, Cartography, Nonfiction, Geography

208 pages, Hardcover

First published November 6, 1997

Reviews

[Jack]

A good overview of how cartography and related attitudes developed, particularly how trade and international relations influenced the pursuit.