"We often forget that the maps we use to get around town to find the latest Insta-friendly coffee shop are political tools of government control. They show borders that define where we are different from them, where the right sort of people live, or are barred from visiting, and where control over food and water, and even tracking droughts and famines, is exercised."
"It starts with some of the earliest maps, often drawn to show Kings what they own, or covet, and of course, who owes them taxes. Early maps were used by lords to show how rich and lordly they are, but in recent years, maps have turned the tables to reveal how the rich prefer to avoid paying their tithes by hiding their wealthy ownerships."
"But what is probably most fascinating are the once-secret maps that aren't any more that reveal how subversive government control could be at times. A map of submarine cables for international communication is likely secret because they are a critical piece of infrastructure. But the locations of the cables were widely known - so why the secrecy? Look for the purple underlines on the map - they mark UK spy centres where the British could listen in on messages."
An exhibition of classified and declassified maps shows how cartography has been used for state power, secrecy, and surveillance from WWII and the Cold War to earlier eras. Many maps bore the word "secret," often crossed out when declassified, revealing layers of hidden information. Maps demonstrate borders, resource control, and mechanisms for tracking droughts and famines. Early maps recorded royal possessions and taxes; later maps exposed wealthy efforts to hide ownership and avoid tithes. Once-secret maps reveal subversive government control, such as marked submarine cables and spy centres. Advances in mapping technology, including aerial photography, transformed mapmaking and intelligence gathering.
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