Cartographic Circuits Of Knowledge In The 'Age Of Discovery' (1400-1700) And Their Impact On The Construction Of Ocean Space
Lead Research Organisation:
Queen's University Belfast
Department Name: Sch of Natural and Built Environment
Abstract
In global histories of European expansion, turn of 16th Century is characterised by Western explorers 'discoveries', marking new levels of prestige and influence for cartography in Europe. Knowledge of and access to oceanic space was central to this so-called 'Age of Discovery'. The project will examine how, approaching from the West rather than the East, Europeans were simply joining established oceanic routes and spaces. These 'new' spaces were multicultural constructions, a product of expanding global maritime networks, of Orientalism and Occidentalism. By excavating cartographic circuits of knowledge, it is possible to 'discover' how these links changed within this period, and their impact on constructed ocean space.
Central research questions are: who and what made up cartographic circuits of knowledge; how did these circuits inform conceptual and representational ideas of ocean space; what role did these networks play in cartography's rise in influence?
The project will provide an in-depth investigation of how these circuits surrounding the Indian Ocean constructed ocean space within the 'Age of Discovery' (1400-1700). It explores how Oriental-Occidental oceanic interactions between travellers, specifically European, Ottoman, Arabian and Chinese, created cartographic circuits, evidenced by existing material culture. The 'Age of Discovery' revolutionised European geographic knowledge, whilst the Indian Ocean represents the first global maritime network, where no nation claimed total dominance. Despite their misleading or anachronistic nature, 'Indian Ocean' and 'Age of Discovery' provide succinct parameters for the project. Rather than being a time and space of colonial success, it was an arena of networks far beyond the European. Zheng He's maritime expeditions (1405-1433) covered almost the entirety of the Indian Ocean, forming links through tributary offerings from maritime polities. Islamic communities meant Haji pilgrimages occurred cyclically, creating other multicultural interactions.
This project is the first to consider these links through the lens of cartographic circuits of knowledge. It builds on critical cartography, taking space as a social product and, by centring ocean space, illuminates interactions concealed by hegemonic categories like nation (Lefebvre, 1974; Bentley, 1999; Steinberg, 2001). It fits current oceanic research perceiving the Indian Ocean as a cohesive unit, created by the movement and exchange of people, objects and historical forces (Braudel, 1949; Chaudhuri, 1985; Pearson, 2003; O'Doherty, 2009). It will address insufficient focus on how cartographic circuits influenced oceanic spatial constructions, complementing historical networking research considering how the cotton trade or modes of colonial communication affected space (Chaudhuri, 1985; Peera, 1999; Machado, 2018).
Methodologies will centre on exploring networks, specifically prosopography and object biography. Prosopography uses set questions on pre-defined source bases to analyse social mobility, identifying their social reality and the cultural position they held (Stone, 1971; Keats-Rohan, 2007). By using this on, eg a series of maps housed at a set institution, common characteristics across the collective are revealed alongside network links that informed spatial ideas. Object biography compliments this by tracking a source's 'lifecycle', investigating its meaning over its 'birth', 'life' and 'death' (Kopytoff, 1986; Appachuri, 1986; Joy 2009). This material exchange reveals relationships between people and objects, contextualising their position within the cultural milieu. I will draw on cartographic and geographic sources and materials, ie nautical maps, portolan charts, navigational logs and published collections such as isolarii. Digitised archives, provided by the Library of Congress, the Bodleian Library, National Maritime Institution and the British Library, will be utilised and printed manuscript collections.
Central research questions are: who and what made up cartographic circuits of knowledge; how did these circuits inform conceptual and representational ideas of ocean space; what role did these networks play in cartography's rise in influence?
The project will provide an in-depth investigation of how these circuits surrounding the Indian Ocean constructed ocean space within the 'Age of Discovery' (1400-1700). It explores how Oriental-Occidental oceanic interactions between travellers, specifically European, Ottoman, Arabian and Chinese, created cartographic circuits, evidenced by existing material culture. The 'Age of Discovery' revolutionised European geographic knowledge, whilst the Indian Ocean represents the first global maritime network, where no nation claimed total dominance. Despite their misleading or anachronistic nature, 'Indian Ocean' and 'Age of Discovery' provide succinct parameters for the project. Rather than being a time and space of colonial success, it was an arena of networks far beyond the European. Zheng He's maritime expeditions (1405-1433) covered almost the entirety of the Indian Ocean, forming links through tributary offerings from maritime polities. Islamic communities meant Haji pilgrimages occurred cyclically, creating other multicultural interactions.
This project is the first to consider these links through the lens of cartographic circuits of knowledge. It builds on critical cartography, taking space as a social product and, by centring ocean space, illuminates interactions concealed by hegemonic categories like nation (Lefebvre, 1974; Bentley, 1999; Steinberg, 2001). It fits current oceanic research perceiving the Indian Ocean as a cohesive unit, created by the movement and exchange of people, objects and historical forces (Braudel, 1949; Chaudhuri, 1985; Pearson, 2003; O'Doherty, 2009). It will address insufficient focus on how cartographic circuits influenced oceanic spatial constructions, complementing historical networking research considering how the cotton trade or modes of colonial communication affected space (Chaudhuri, 1985; Peera, 1999; Machado, 2018).
Methodologies will centre on exploring networks, specifically prosopography and object biography. Prosopography uses set questions on pre-defined source bases to analyse social mobility, identifying their social reality and the cultural position they held (Stone, 1971; Keats-Rohan, 2007). By using this on, eg a series of maps housed at a set institution, common characteristics across the collective are revealed alongside network links that informed spatial ideas. Object biography compliments this by tracking a source's 'lifecycle', investigating its meaning over its 'birth', 'life' and 'death' (Kopytoff, 1986; Appachuri, 1986; Joy 2009). This material exchange reveals relationships between people and objects, contextualising their position within the cultural milieu. I will draw on cartographic and geographic sources and materials, ie nautical maps, portolan charts, navigational logs and published collections such as isolarii. Digitised archives, provided by the Library of Congress, the Bodleian Library, National Maritime Institution and the British Library, will be utilised and printed manuscript collections.
Organisations
People |
ORCID iD |
| Keith Lilley (Primary Supervisor) | |
| Hannah Campbell Hewson (Student) |