Entire Volume 17 issue 1 - Journal of World-Systems Research ...

187 JOURNAL OF WORLD-SYSTEMS RESEARCH
early 1800s. So how much was known about Ethiopia? How did it appear on European maps?
Because of its location on the Nile, previous Portuguese contacts, and in conjunction with new
British and French efforts to establish commercial and political relations, Ethiopia was one of the
few areas in Africa that was reasonably well-known by 1800.
This is strikingly clear in Aaron Arrowsmith’s rendition of the turn of the century world,
and of Africa in particular. Arrowsmith captures a tremendous moment in the development of the
world, as Europe sought new spheres of trade and colonization. Yet he embraced the relatively
new relationship between cartography and geographical knowledge; Arrowsmith was firmly
working in the scientific tradition and his map was inspired by Captain James Cook’s voyages of
the eighteenth century. It marks a conscious shift to the reflection of the “known” and “reveals
the progressive demythologizing of the world map” (Whitfield 1994:114). Accordingly,
Arrowsmith’s representation of Africa encompasses only what is known to the European world –
the empty spaces are then striking in their vastness. Gone from Africa are the whimsical
creatures and large lakes placed in the interior. Actual knowledge is almost entirely confined to
coastal regions or some river drainages, with the notable exception of Ethiopia.
Figure 6: Arrowsmith Abyssinia [detail]. Arrowsmith, Aaron (1808). “Map of the World
on a Globular Projection”, first published 1794. London: A. Arrowsmith. Electronic image
courtesy David Rumsey Historical Map Collection, copyright Cartography Associates:
http://www.davidrumsey.com/maps924.html.