Maps: Power, Plunder and Possession (2010)

S1E1 Windows on the World

Brotton journeys to the world's oldest known map, carved into a remote alpine hillside over 3,000 years ago, to examine how different cultures create their own surprising mapping techniques. The stunning aerial maps of the British coastline from Henry VIII's era reveal how mapping was used as a tool for global domination. During the Enlightenment, the Cassini family in France led efforts to achieve greater scientific precision in mapping, influencing the British Ordnance Survey. However, these new methods faced competition from cultures like the Polynesians, who utilized different navigational concepts. As precise mapping became integral to European expansion, the British imposed borders in Iraq, severely impacting the nomadic tribes of Mesopotamia.