The age of maps : cartography, imperialism and nationalism in Great Britain and France, 1870-1914

How are maps used in a specific country at a given time? In this thesis, I argue that mapsshould be given greater prominence in historical analysis because they give us a fresh outlook on thepast by informing us about representations of the world. To prove this point, I explore the linksbetween cartography, imperialism and nationalism in Great Britain and France between 1870 and1914. I provide an original view of the turn of the twentieth century by articulating three differentapproaches: a cartographic one, a comparative one and a panoramic one (due to the variety of thepublished materials analyzed from geographical journals to atlases, text-books and newspapers).From this history of cartographic thinking, three things emerge. First, British and Frenchgeographers converted maps into scientific and political symbols in order to underline the need tostudy geography from 1870-71 in France and from 1884 in Britain. Second, they disseminated thesesymbols and a new cartographic mode of thinking about the world to a wide audience thanks to newprinting devices and the spread of education with the hope of forming citizens. Finally, they were ableto use maps of empire more specifically to promote nationalism.My conclusion is two-fold. First, the comparative nature of the study reveals a process ofimitation between the two nations in exploration, imperialism, geography teaching and the contents oftheir maps. Second, the use of maps became so important between 1870 and 1914 because the twocountries faced periods of doubts linked to an economic depression, international rivalries, thescramble for colonies, the Franco-Prussian War and the Boer War