Map consumption and circulation in the nineteenth century: the case of the political map of South America

CARLA LOIS

Helsinki

Conferencia; 25th International Conference on the History of Cartography; 2013

This paper discusses nineteenth-century map consumption and circulation, with a particular focus on the Atlantic World. It begins with a brief examination of some key aspects of the consumption and circulation of maps in the nineteenth century (consumers, itineraries, market, infrastructural support, etc.) and then examines these through a case study based on primary research: political maps of Latin America published in European and American atlases during the Latin American revolutions. Flowing on from this case study of Latin American revolutions and their cartographical depictions, the paper raises some general issues and questions about about map consumption and circulation over the nineteenth century which might be usefully explored in other parts of the world. a) How did the traditional organisation of the genre of geographical atlases change over the nineteenth century? b) How did information flows and revisions interact with both political news and the publishing market? c) What was the place of maps and atlases in broader political/social/cultural agendas? d) How did cartographical sources serve different objectives across the nineteenth century?