European Maps
For those of us in America, we see Europe in light of our history. And because European cities are centuries older than even our oldest cities, we see Europe as a place of history. Most of the most significant historical events of our shared past could be mapped to have occurred somewhere in Europe. This is why historical maps of Europe are so fascinating and educational. These maps function in a way like time machines by showing us the world as it once was. It doesn’t take a lot of imagination to put yourself in that world to follow the movement of history on maps that are true to a different time frame than our own.
There are museums that have dozens of maps of Europe showing the configuration of countries and the rise of cities over hundreds of years. To be able to walk through rooms as the maps jump forward by decades or more is like seeing history unfold before you eyes. You can see wars changing how countries look and other events making a difference in the maps of the world and of Europe itself. Country names change and even the shape of countries change as they are realigned after a major event like a world war.
This can give you perspective on how transitory our own maps are today. We tend to think that our current country alignments are all pretty permanent. But looking at Europe down through history shows that countries change shape and even disappear only to see new countries come into being. It all takes time in the same way that it takes a while for a mountain to push up above the rest of the landscape. But that movement of social activity, governments and societies and even the shifts in population due to new circumstances like the coming of Attila the Hun or the Black death all are captured on historic maps of Europe.
It is easy to wonder how these maps came into being. Are scientists and historians guessing? Not at all. Many actual maps have been passed down through history to us today. These maps can be replicated for display and we see the work of ancient map makers making the maps that guided explorers and armies to set out on history changing events.
From the rise and fall of the Roman Empire to the changes in population centers due to economic events or even the Bubonic Plaque all can see seen in how maps change to follow the movement of society. And we know that society and the world will continue to change. That means that a century from now or longer, people of the future will have maps of how the world looks today. And it will give them insight into our world the way ancient European maps help us understand history as well.