��ҹ��1000��

Skip to content

Review : Mine, all mine

5 July 1997

Map a country and you own it—good as. As Matthew Edney argues in
Mapping an Empire, the British East India Company’s trigonometric surveys of
India 200 years ago combined territorial and intellectual conquest.
“Civilisation” came armed with a theodolite. It is how Britain painted half the
world’s map red. Published by University of Chicago Press in August,
£27.95/$35, ISBN 0 226 18487 0.

Sign up to our weekly newsletter

Receive a weekly dose of discovery in your inbox. We'll also keep you up to date with New Scientist events and special offers.

Sign up

More from New Scientist

Explore the latest news, articles and features

Archaeopteryx. Artwork of the prehistoric feathered reptile Archaeopteryx which lived around 150 million years ago. Discovered in 1861 in southern Germany, it was the first feathered fossil specimen ever found. Despite possessing bird-like feathers, wings and a wishbone, Archaeopteryx also had sharp teeth, finger digits and a bony tail similar to non-bird predatory dinosaurs. This species and numerous other feathered fossils support the theory that modern day birds evolved from prehistoric theropod dinosaurs.

Life

New Scientist recommends a brilliant take on the evolution of birds

Culture

Aerial view of an oasis on the edge of the desert town of Mao, known as the 'White City' for the limestone used to build local homes. For centuries, oases have enabled humans to survive, and even to thrive, in some of the harshest environments on earth. Now they are under threat from climate change.

Environment

Striking photos show how sands are encroaching on oases in the Sahara

Regulars

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Comment

Think you have a good sense of humour? So do most people…

Regulars

Backrooms A strange doorway appears in the basement of a furniture showroom.

Comment

Sci-fi horror film Backrooms is a triumph for its 20-year-old director

Culture

1

Fully autonomous drones have killed human soldiers for the first time

2

Mysterious ‘cold blob’ in the Atlantic suggests the AMOC is weakening

3

Why we should all take quantum physics extremely personally

4

Millions of fossil whale bones found in deep-ocean ‘necropolis’

5

Understanding anorexia’s grip on the brain could unlock new therapies

6

Hundreds of new moons are revealing our solar system's violent history

7

Do turmeric and curcumin have any actual health benefits?

8

Unpicking endometriosis reveals how it affects more than the pelvis

9

What to read this week: Katrina Manson's terrifying Project Maven

10

What is a ‘normal’ memory slowdown, and when should I worry?