[BITList] maps

Tue Feb 13 05:25:47 GMT 2018

From the Battle of Hastings to Brexit: New book tells Britain's island story through an amazing series of maps taking in the Anglo-Saxons, the Victorians and the Nazis
From the Brexit <safari-reader://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/brexit/index.html> result and The Battle of Hastings to Queen Elizabeth's Coronation and Hitler's planned invasion, these are just some of the fascinating maps which tell the history of our islands through the medium of cartography 

Many of them mark critical moments in the history of Great Britain, including a colour-coded map of the UK indicating how each area of the country voted in the June 2016 EU referendum <safari-reader://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/eu_referendum/index.html> and in what percentages - while another shows the population density in different parts of Britain during the Victorian era.

Further maps illustrate Nazi Germany <safari-reader://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/germany/index.html>'s plans for Operation Sealion - an audacious plot for the eventual invasion of Britain from mainland Europe - with a further image mapping out the exact route Queen Elizabeth II's coronation took through London <safari-reader://www.dailymail.co.uk/news/london/index.html> when she was crowned Queen in June 1953. 

HITLER'S PLAN TO INVADE BRITAIN IN 1940, CODENAMED OPERATION SEALION: This map shows how the Nazis considered invading Britain from mainland Europe. The German invasion plans included landings on a broad front from Dover to Dorset and, once these bridgeheads had joined up, advancing and capturing London and the area south of a line from the Bristol Channel to the Wash. The Germans planned to launch Sealion once they had achieved the air superiority to nullify the Royal Navy - but the Luftwaffe was defeated and the operation never took place

BATTLE OF SENLAC (HASTINGS), 1066: Although the largest town closest to the famous battle between the Norman-French and Anglo-Saxons was Hastings, King Harold's main defensive position against William of Normandy was at Senlac Hill - a short distance from Battle Abbey, in Sussex. The terrain would have been a mixture of heathland and woodland. Positioning himself at the top of the hill gave Harold a major advantage, placing a shield wall there. William's men gathered below in a wet and boggy field, making it difficult for him to move his cavalry through the area. The battle began in the morning with the Norman knights on foot firing arrows followed by those on horseback charging up the hill. The battle continued for several hours; by the afternoon, the Normans pretended to flee but then turned and slaughtered the Saxons, who soon lost control of the top of the hill. William used his archers to break up the Saxon shield wall. Harold was killed, victory was William The Conqueror's and so began the Norman conquest of England

BREXIT REFERENDUM RESULTS, 2016:  The Leavers ended up the clear winner after the historic vote on June 23. The nation's decision to leave the European Union led to the resignation of Prime Minister David Cameron, heralding a new era under Theresa May - who is currently trying to hammer out a Brexit strategy

SCOTLAND, c. 1794: This was part of a set of caricature maps engraved by Robert Dighton in the late 18th century. The series - entitled Geography Bewitched! - was originally published around 1780. It was designed to amuse and also educate; the bold use of colour and caricature encouraged readers to learn about geographical locations. The map features a satirical take on a Scotsman on a landscape complete with a Scottish thistle

COMPARISON OF ENGLISH AND BOHEMIAN CIVIL WARS: This illustration shows a 17th century map of England contrasted with a view of Prague. Pictured main are battleships in the North Sea. To the right is the Battle of the White Mountain of 1620 - fought in Prague, Bohemia, which saw the Roman Catholic Habsburgs defeat the Protestant Union. Sixteen scenes of relevant historical context surround the map, including the English Parliament being dissolved in 1640
The images, which feature in A History Of Britain In Maps, also include maps of Julius Caesar's ill-conceived invasion of Britain in 55 BC, London in 1558 and the Spanish Armada in 1588, and was the brainchild of author and historian Philip Parker.

Mr Parker has written books on the Roman Empire, the Vikings and the Himalayas, but says he has a particular interest in maps due to their ability to tell a story.

'Maps are a very ancient way of making sense of our world,' he writes.

'From scratches on rocks made in Neolithic times and ancient Mesopotamian cuneiform tablets to the globe-spanning digital databases of the 21st century, they have translated a visual account of a landscape or of a nation into an image that it would take many thousands of words to equal.

'History of Britain in Maps recounts the story of England, Wales, Scotland and Ireland by reflecting on what those maps can tell us about the motives of the mapmakers and the history of the eras in which they lived.

'The maps in this volume span nearly 2,000 years, from the Rudge Cup, a bronze Roman vessel which bears a representation of the line of Hadrian's Wall, to a map showing the distribution of voting in the 2016 referendum on whether Britain should leave the European Union.

QUEEN ELIZABETH'S CORONATION ROUTE, 1953: The Queen endured a two-hour, four-and-a-half mile return journey from Westminster Abbey - to make sure her and the Duke of Edinburgh could wave to as many adoring subjects as possible. In January this year, she revealed the 'horrible' journey to her coronation was marred by an uncomfortable golden coach and a heavy crown

GREAT BRITAIN'S NATURAL AND INDUSTRIAL RESOURCES (circa 1939-45):  This map was distributed in America by the British Information Services during the Second World War and shows the main agricultural and industrial resources of the nation during that time. It was most likely an attempt at propaganda to keep the US supporting the Allies

BRITISH ISLES CENSUS, 1841: This map provides details of the first national census, which took place on June 6 that year. The total population at the time just exceeded 27million. Today that figure stands at approximately 66million
'In the time in between, cartographers have mapped routes, property disputes, defensive systems, battles, mineral resources, railways and canal networks, the weather and even the progress of a cholera epidemic; anything in short where the placement of a line, a symbol or an area of shading could display information effectively, tell a story or promote a message.

'Every map tells a story. From the smallest, dealing with a property dispute in medieval Yorkshire, to the largest – portraying the whole of the United Kingdom and the density of population after the 1841 census – they are among the most eloquent forms of historical narrative.

'The many maps in this book, with their varied perspectives, motives, forms of execution and differing geographical frames, each tell their own tale. Together they shed refreshing new light on the wonderful kaleidoscope of patterns that is the history of Britain.'

A History of Britain in Maps by Philip Parker is published by Collins
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