WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:08.950 align:middle line:90% 00:00:08.950 --> 00:00:09.880 align:middle line:90% Welcome back. 00:00:09.880 --> 00:00:11.690 align:middle line:84% This week, as we're thinking about space 00:00:11.690 --> 00:00:15.870 align:middle line:84% and how it relates to belonging, we've been thinking about maps. 00:00:15.870 --> 00:00:18.390 align:middle line:84% We've been looking at maps at the British Library 00:00:18.390 --> 00:00:20.640 align:middle line:84% as a technology for representing space. 00:00:20.640 --> 00:00:23.460 align:middle line:84% Maps we've seen can help individuals, communities, 00:00:23.460 --> 00:00:27.110 align:middle line:84% entire states and empires stake out claims to land, 00:00:27.110 --> 00:00:30.300 align:middle line:84% transforming land into political territory. 00:00:30.300 --> 00:00:33.630 align:middle line:84% So when we make sense of maps as ideological objects, 00:00:33.630 --> 00:00:35.710 align:middle line:84% we need to ask not only what they look like, 00:00:35.710 --> 00:00:39.250 align:middle line:84% but also who decides whether a map's made in the first pace, 00:00:39.250 --> 00:00:40.800 align:middle line:84% and also equally importantly, who 00:00:40.800 --> 00:00:45.280 align:middle line:84% decides whether or not a map is kept, preserved, or discarded. 00:00:45.280 --> 00:00:47.140 align:middle line:84% To discuss this question, I'm joined today 00:00:47.140 --> 00:00:49.590 align:middle line:84% by Hayley Cotterill, who's the assistant archivist 00:00:49.590 --> 00:00:52.820 align:middle line:84% at the Special Collections of the University of Nottingham. 00:00:52.820 --> 00:00:54.056 align:middle line:90% So Hayley, welcome. 00:00:54.056 --> 00:00:54.556 align:middle line:90% Thank you. 00:00:54.556 --> 00:00:56.440 align:middle line:84% Could you begin perhaps by telling us 00:00:56.440 --> 00:00:59.080 align:middle line:84% a little bit about the nature of this archive that you work in? 00:00:59.080 --> 00:01:00.094 align:middle line:90% Absolutely. 00:01:00.094 --> 00:01:02.010 align:middle line:84% Manuscripts and Special Collections Department 00:01:02.010 --> 00:01:04.640 align:middle line:84% is responsible for looking after the university's collections 00:01:04.640 --> 00:01:07.690 align:middle line:84% of unique manuscript material and rare published works. 00:01:07.690 --> 00:01:10.910 align:middle line:84% These collections include about 3 1/2 million archival 00:01:10.910 --> 00:01:14.000 align:middle line:84% documents and over 60,000 published books. 00:01:14.000 --> 00:01:15.940 align:middle line:84% The documents range from the mid-12th century 00:01:15.940 --> 00:01:18.190 align:middle line:84% right up to the present day, and the collections 00:01:18.190 --> 00:01:20.120 align:middle line:84% that we have come to us in a variety of ways. 00:01:20.120 --> 00:01:22.570 align:middle line:84% A small amount is generated by the university, 00:01:22.570 --> 00:01:24.544 align:middle line:84% and we also purchase a small amount. 00:01:24.544 --> 00:01:26.210 align:middle line:84% But the vast majority of our collections 00:01:26.210 --> 00:01:28.267 align:middle line:84% have been given or loaned to us by people 00:01:28.267 --> 00:01:30.350 align:middle line:84% who are aware of the importance of what they have. 00:01:30.350 --> 00:01:31.891 align:middle line:84% They want to ensure that it survives, 00:01:31.891 --> 00:01:34.410 align:middle line:84% and they want it to be available for research. 00:01:34.410 --> 00:01:36.105 align:middle line:84% So how do maps come into this story? 00:01:36.105 --> 00:01:37.160 align:middle line:90% Why do you collect them? 00:01:37.160 --> 00:01:38.556 align:middle line:90% How do they get to you? 00:01:38.556 --> 00:01:40.680 align:middle line:84% Well, maps can be found in lots of our collections, 00:01:40.680 --> 00:01:42.670 align:middle line:84% including political and diplomatic papers, 00:01:42.670 --> 00:01:45.255 align:middle line:84% the papers of landed families, and business archives. 00:01:45.255 --> 00:01:46.630 align:middle line:84% And the survival of historic maps 00:01:46.630 --> 00:01:49.842 align:middle line:84% tells us a lot about why they were created and used. 00:01:49.842 --> 00:01:51.800 align:middle line:84% Because if a document is hundreds of years old, 00:01:51.800 --> 00:01:54.130 align:middle line:84% then in certain points in that document's history, 00:01:54.130 --> 00:01:57.060 align:middle line:84% people have had to make choices that have led to its survival. 00:01:57.060 --> 00:01:59.519 align:middle line:84% You were just talking about the reasons why maps were made. 00:01:59.519 --> 00:02:01.060 align:middle line:84% The reason why a map is then retained 00:02:01.060 --> 00:02:02.670 align:middle line:84% is because it has value for its owner, 00:02:02.670 --> 00:02:04.045 align:middle line:84% and that value might be monetary, 00:02:04.045 --> 00:02:07.020 align:middle line:84% it might be evidential, emotional, or historical. 00:02:07.020 --> 00:02:09.100 align:middle line:84% It can stabilise claims of ownership, 00:02:09.100 --> 00:02:12.070 align:middle line:84% establish ancestry, or preserve important memories. 00:02:12.070 --> 00:02:14.585 align:middle line:84% A map's evidential value is important, as well, 00:02:14.585 --> 00:02:16.210 align:middle line:84% when we are considering its provenance. 00:02:16.210 --> 00:02:18.177 align:middle line:84% Because if you don't know who created a map 00:02:18.177 --> 00:02:20.760 align:middle line:84% or when it was created, then how can you trust the information 00:02:20.760 --> 00:02:22.490 align:middle line:90% that it contains? 00:02:22.490 --> 00:02:23.970 align:middle line:84% The next stage in a map's survival 00:02:23.970 --> 00:02:26.024 align:middle line:84% is when it is offered to an archive. 00:02:26.024 --> 00:02:27.440 align:middle line:84% Lots of material will be destroyed 00:02:27.440 --> 00:02:29.230 align:middle line:84% without ever being offered to an archive-- 00:02:29.230 --> 00:02:31.950 align:middle line:84% accidentally because it's perceived as worthless, or as 00:02:31.950 --> 00:02:33.450 align:middle line:84% a deliberate attempt at concealment. 00:02:33.450 --> 00:02:35.130 align:middle line:84% And this is where the phrase "history is written 00:02:35.130 --> 00:02:36.520 align:middle line:90% by the victors" comes to mind. 00:02:36.520 --> 00:02:38.410 align:middle line:84% So Hayley, you've selected three maps for us 00:02:38.410 --> 00:02:40.151 align:middle line:90% to look at in particular. 00:02:40.151 --> 00:02:42.650 align:middle line:84% Could you tell us a little bit about what these maps tell us 00:02:42.650 --> 00:02:45.230 align:middle line:84% and how we know about why they're made 00:02:45.230 --> 00:02:47.670 align:middle line:84% and why they came to be preserved and stored 00:02:47.670 --> 00:02:49.440 align:middle line:90% in this archive here? 00:02:49.440 --> 00:02:50.880 align:middle line:84% The first map that I've got out is 00:02:50.880 --> 00:02:52.380 align:middle line:90% an example of an enclosure map. 00:02:52.380 --> 00:02:55.605 align:middle line:84% So this map is sewn into the accompanying enclosure wood. 00:02:55.605 --> 00:02:57.980 align:middle line:84% And that lists the owners of the newly enclosed landscape 00:02:57.980 --> 00:03:00.563 align:middle line:84% with the location and acreage of the plots that they received. 00:03:00.563 --> 00:03:03.610 align:middle line:84% Enclosure was a process where large fields or commons 00:03:03.610 --> 00:03:06.570 align:middle line:84% were converted into individual private plots of land. 00:03:06.570 --> 00:03:11.440 align:middle line:84% So a large field or fields would be split into individual plots, 00:03:11.440 --> 00:03:13.920 align:middle line:90% and those plots would be fenced. 00:03:13.920 --> 00:03:15.710 align:middle line:84% Enclosure also included the extinguishment 00:03:15.710 --> 00:03:18.010 align:middle line:84% of commons rights, such as the right to graze livestock 00:03:18.010 --> 00:03:19.405 align:middle line:90% on common land. 00:03:19.405 --> 00:03:21.030 align:middle line:84% This is an enclosure map for the parish 00:03:21.030 --> 00:03:22.529 align:middle line:84% of North Muskham in Nottinghamshire, 00:03:22.529 --> 00:03:24.520 align:middle line:90% which was enclosed in 1771. 00:03:24.520 --> 00:03:26.870 align:middle line:84% The large land owners would have agreed among themselves 00:03:26.870 --> 00:03:28.700 align:middle line:84% who was going to receive which plot of land 00:03:28.700 --> 00:03:31.155 align:middle line:90% in the newly enclosed fields. 00:03:31.155 --> 00:03:34.020 align:middle line:84% An enclosure map is drawn up as a tool 00:03:34.020 --> 00:03:36.490 align:middle line:84% to demonstrate this new ownership of land, 00:03:36.490 --> 00:03:38.420 align:middle line:84% so anyone looking at the map can see 00:03:38.420 --> 00:03:40.440 align:middle line:84% who has been allocated which plot of land 00:03:40.440 --> 00:03:42.710 align:middle line:90% and where exactly that land is. 00:03:42.710 --> 00:03:44.210 align:middle line:84% Enclosure maps demonstrate the power 00:03:44.210 --> 00:03:45.960 align:middle line:84% of the people behind enclosure, and they 00:03:45.960 --> 00:03:49.210 align:middle line:84% would've been intended to be kept in the long term. 00:03:49.210 --> 00:03:51.920 align:middle line:84% The second example that I have was created 00:03:51.920 --> 00:03:53.550 align:middle line:90% for a very different reason. 00:03:53.550 --> 00:03:55.900 align:middle line:84% It represents Sichuan Province in China, 00:03:55.900 --> 00:03:58.950 align:middle line:84% and is taken from Martino Martini's Atlas of China, which 00:03:58.950 --> 00:04:01.430 align:middle line:90% was published in 1655. 00:04:01.430 --> 00:04:03.940 align:middle line:84% Martini was an Italian Jesuit who arrived in the country 00:04:03.940 --> 00:04:05.632 align:middle line:90% in 1642. 00:04:05.632 --> 00:04:07.590 align:middle line:84% We know that he travelled extensively in China. 00:04:07.590 --> 00:04:11.380 align:middle line:84% His atlas includes copies of maps of 15 provinces, 00:04:11.380 --> 00:04:13.510 align:middle line:84% and we know that he personally visited 7 of them. 00:04:13.510 --> 00:04:16.200 align:middle line:84% The cartography, however, is based on European visions 00:04:16.200 --> 00:04:17.420 align:middle line:90% of Ming's surveys. 00:04:17.420 --> 00:04:20.140 align:middle line:84% Now, this is a really beautiful, elaborate map, 00:04:20.140 --> 00:04:22.980 align:middle line:84% and the reason for its creation is twofold. 00:04:22.980 --> 00:04:24.390 align:middle line:90% First of all, it's informative. 00:04:24.390 --> 00:04:27.830 align:middle line:84% So you can see that it shows the mountains, rivers, mines, 00:04:27.830 --> 00:04:30.190 align:middle line:84% and major cities and towns of the province. 00:04:30.190 --> 00:04:31.650 align:middle line:90% It's also decorative. 00:04:31.650 --> 00:04:33.910 align:middle line:84% It's there to create an exotic image of China 00:04:33.910 --> 00:04:35.490 align:middle line:84% for a European audience, most of whom 00:04:35.490 --> 00:04:37.020 align:middle line:84% wouldn't ever have visited the country. 00:04:37.020 --> 00:04:38.894 align:middle line:84% And it has embellishments such as the cartoon 00:04:38.894 --> 00:04:40.920 align:middle line:90% showing the Chinese warriors. 00:04:40.920 --> 00:04:42.790 align:middle line:84% Now, Martini wasn't only creating his atlas 00:04:42.790 --> 00:04:44.590 align:middle line:84% as an aid to an exploration of China. 00:04:44.590 --> 00:04:46.530 align:middle line:84% He had a commercial aim, as well. 00:04:46.530 --> 00:04:48.910 align:middle line:84% His atlas, which was called the Atlas Sinensis, 00:04:48.910 --> 00:04:51.030 align:middle line:84% was the first European atlas of China, 00:04:51.030 --> 00:04:53.530 align:middle line:84% and it remained the standard geographic work on that country 00:04:53.530 --> 00:04:55.277 align:middle line:90% for almost 100 years. 00:04:55.277 --> 00:04:57.610 align:middle line:84% And this, of course, has all helped to aid its survival. 00:04:57.610 --> 00:05:00.026 align:middle line:84% Copies of his atlas can be found in libraries and archives 00:05:00.026 --> 00:05:00.897 align:middle line:90% all over the world. 00:05:00.897 --> 00:05:02.480 align:middle line:84% And the maps that we have were removed 00:05:02.480 --> 00:05:04.188 align:middle line:84% from the volume at some point in the past 00:05:04.188 --> 00:05:06.790 align:middle line:84% and framed before they came into our possession. 00:05:06.790 --> 00:05:10.210 align:middle line:84% The final example that I have is a British Army trench 00:05:10.210 --> 00:05:11.960 align:middle line:90% map from the First World War. 00:05:11.960 --> 00:05:13.760 align:middle line:84% When the British Expeditionary Force first 00:05:13.760 --> 00:05:15.280 align:middle line:84% went to war in France and Belgium, 00:05:15.280 --> 00:05:17.410 align:middle line:90% they relied on existing maps. 00:05:17.410 --> 00:05:19.500 align:middle line:84% But as the war changed from one of movement 00:05:19.500 --> 00:05:22.441 align:middle line:84% to one of attrition, they needed new large-scale maps 00:05:22.441 --> 00:05:24.690 align:middle line:84% that showed the position on the ground for the troops. 00:05:24.690 --> 00:05:27.360 align:middle line:84% So it showed the enemy defensive positions 00:05:27.360 --> 00:05:29.630 align:middle line:84% and an accurate portrayal of the land that 00:05:29.630 --> 00:05:31.840 align:middle line:90% was being held by the enemy. 00:05:31.840 --> 00:05:34.100 align:middle line:84% On this map, the British trenches are marked in blue 00:05:34.100 --> 00:05:36.346 align:middle line:84% and the enemy trenches are in red. 00:05:36.346 --> 00:05:37.720 align:middle line:84% The position of the British lines 00:05:37.720 --> 00:05:40.320 align:middle line:84% is only approximate and narrowly sketched in. 00:05:40.320 --> 00:05:42.016 align:middle line:84% A British trench map wasn't there 00:05:42.016 --> 00:05:43.640 align:middle line:84% to help British soldiers find their way 00:05:43.640 --> 00:05:45.360 align:middle line:90% around their own trench system. 00:05:45.360 --> 00:05:47.230 align:middle line:84% Any maps which did accurately show 00:05:47.230 --> 00:05:49.329 align:middle line:84% the British lines were classified as secret, 00:05:49.329 --> 00:05:50.870 align:middle line:84% and they weren't supposed to be taken 00:05:50.870 --> 00:05:53.932 align:middle line:84% onto the front line in case it fell into enemy hands. 00:05:53.932 --> 00:05:55.890 align:middle line:84% This is a map that belonged to a junior officer 00:05:55.890 --> 00:05:58.510 align:middle line:84% in the First World War, Vince, and it was never intended 00:05:58.510 --> 00:06:00.282 align:middle line:90% to be kept in the long term. 00:06:00.282 --> 00:06:02.490 align:middle line:84% Trench maps were constantly being revised and updated 00:06:02.490 --> 00:06:04.210 align:middle line:84% as the position on the ground changed 00:06:04.210 --> 00:06:06.452 align:middle line:84% so that people had accurate, up-to-date information. 00:06:06.452 --> 00:06:08.910 align:middle line:84% And you can see on this map that the position of the trench 00:06:08.910 --> 00:06:12.850 align:middle line:84% lines is given as corrected to the 1st of April, 1917. 00:06:12.850 --> 00:06:15.400 align:middle line:84% Many of the place names on the map are in English. 00:06:15.400 --> 00:06:17.950 align:middle line:84% This is because British troops would rename the areas 00:06:17.950 --> 00:06:20.560 align:middle line:84% around them, giving them names connected to back home 00:06:20.560 --> 00:06:22.860 align:middle line:84% or to their own regiment to help familiarise that area. 00:06:22.860 --> 00:06:24.610 align:middle line:84% And some of the names that we can see here 00:06:24.610 --> 00:06:29.540 align:middle line:84% include Gatwick Cottage, Kempton Park, and Kitchener's Wood. 00:06:29.540 --> 00:06:32.030 align:middle line:84% So they're three completely different kinds of maps, 00:06:32.030 --> 00:06:34.010 align:middle line:84% some very much designed to be preserved 00:06:34.010 --> 00:06:37.280 align:middle line:84% in an official archive, and the last one obviously designed 00:06:37.280 --> 00:06:39.437 align:middle line:84% precisely not to be kept in this way. 00:06:39.437 --> 00:06:41.020 align:middle line:84% But beyond these differences, is there 00:06:41.020 --> 00:06:42.720 align:middle line:84% anything you think that they all have 00:06:42.720 --> 00:06:45.150 align:middle line:84% in common that unites them-- a common thread that 00:06:45.150 --> 00:06:46.200 align:middle line:90% runs through them? 00:06:46.200 --> 00:06:47.790 align:middle line:90% Maps fix a moment in time. 00:06:47.790 --> 00:06:49.820 align:middle line:84% In this way, all maps are historic documents 00:06:49.820 --> 00:06:51.330 align:middle line:84% regardless of how modern they might 00:06:51.330 --> 00:06:53.560 align:middle line:84% be because they are representations 00:06:53.560 --> 00:06:56.640 align:middle line:84% of a particular place at a particular point in time. 00:06:56.640 --> 00:06:58.380 align:middle line:84% They stabilise notions of ownership 00:06:58.380 --> 00:07:00.190 align:middle line:90% and political projects. 00:07:00.190 --> 00:07:03.310 align:middle line:84% But having said that, some maps did evolve over time. 00:07:03.310 --> 00:07:04.380 align:middle line:90% People reused them. 00:07:04.380 --> 00:07:06.120 align:middle line:84% They annotated and amended them rather 00:07:06.120 --> 00:07:08.475 align:middle line:84% than creating a new map every time something changed. 00:07:08.475 --> 00:07:09.850 align:middle line:84% And those annotations can tell us 00:07:09.850 --> 00:07:12.890 align:middle line:84% a lot about how a map was used, whilst a beautiful, unmarked 00:07:12.890 --> 00:07:15.370 align:middle line:84% map was as much about demonstrating power and status 00:07:15.370 --> 00:07:18.094 align:middle line:90% as it was providing information. 00:07:18.094 --> 00:07:19.260 align:middle line:90% Thank you very much, Hayley. 00:07:19.260 --> 00:07:20.550 align:middle line:90% Very interesting. 00:07:20.550 --> 00:07:21.960 align:middle line:84% I think this takes us very nicely 00:07:21.960 --> 00:07:23.501 align:middle line:84% into the next discussion, where we're 00:07:23.501 --> 00:07:25.910 align:middle line:84% going to be thinking about artefacts such as maps 00:07:25.910 --> 00:07:28.340 align:middle line:84% and how they frame and shape the way in which we 00:07:28.340 --> 00:07:33.250 align:middle line:84% imagine ourselves in relation to land, in relation to territory. 00:07:33.250 --> 00:07:35.722 align:middle line:90%