World Map Redesign Urged by African Union to Show Africa's Real Dimension
In a significant endeavour aimed at challenging centuries-old perceptions, a campaign called "Correct the Map" is gaining momentum. The initiative seeks to address Africa's "colonial scaling", a long-standing issue where common maps, including those found in textbooks and digital applications, significantly underrepresent the continent's true size.
The African Union, the continental body representing the governments of Africa, is calling for governments and international organisations to replace the Mercator world map with versions that show Africa's actual dimensions. This call has garnered support from various quarters, including French lawmaker Rima Hassan, a member of the La France Insoumise party in the European Parliament.
The Mercator map, invented in 1569 by Flemish geographer Gerardus Mercator, has been a staple in navigation for centuries. It allowed sailors to plot straight-line paths, a major advance in 16th-century navigation. However, the map has been criticised for distorting landmasses, with Africa appearing much smaller than it actually is. The distortion stems from the fact that the Mercator map enlarges Europe and North America while halving Africa's size.
Opponents of the Mercator map argue that it was drafted to help European explorers navigate the seas more easily but ended up warping landmasses as a result. They favour the Equal Earth projection, introduced in 2018, as an alternative. The Equal Earth projection is a new equal-area pseudocylindrical map designed to represent the world more accurately, with countries shown in their correct relative sizes.
The Equal Earth projection has been widely welcomed for its accurate depiction of Africa's true size. Selma Malika Haddadi, the deputy chairwoman of the African Union's executive arm, stated that the Mercator map fosters a false impression that Africa is "marginal." Rima Hassan, in her support for the campaign, wrote, "Yes, yes, and yes," in a clear show of support for correcting Africa's size on world maps.
The campaign is not just about correcting a geographical image but is also a "symbolic act that reshapes the narrative about Africa." Supporters see the campaign as part of a broader effort to restore Africa's standing in global consciousness. Rima Hassan stresses that the move goes beyond a technical adjustment, touching on the very core of the global narrative about Africa.
While supporters of the Mercator map argue that it was a practical navigation tool, not a colonial weapon, the campaign addresses centuries of distorted representation of Africa. The campaign is a step towards rebalancing the global narrative, fostering a more accurate understanding of the world's second-largest continent.
