Mike Cotton sets out to discover the deceptive side of maps and whether the advent of the Global Positioning System (GPS) will soon make the humble map obsolete.
Ever looked at a map and wondered why the UK is at the centre of the earth? Well there is a good reason for that, maps are essentially propaganda tools.

The map is a visual representation of an area, a symbolic depiction which highlights the relationship between elements of that space such as objects, regions and themes but it also a tool to be manipulated.

Head of map collections at the British Library, Peter Barber, said: “Maps are propaganda tools. They are not primarily to do with geography and travel, they’re to do with being human.”

The exhibition shows how maps have been, throughout history, been used as propaganda tools. The Nazis created one that showed how they intended to control Europe; the 17th Century Portuguese produced a map suggesting the world outside of Europe should be Catholic and Portuguese, while in the 1780s an American map shifted the prime meridian line and therefore the centre of the world to Philadelphia to show post-independence power.

Nearly three-quarters of the maps being shown at the Magnificent Maps: Power, Propaganda and Art exhibition have never been displayed before.

GPS Meltdown?
However, the readily available sat-nav, which uses GPS, has enabled millions of motorists to discard their maps. But they may find they have ditched the map too early if the Government Accountability Office(GAO) in the US is correct with their dire warning about the state of the aging satellites which form the backbone of the GPS.

The GAO is warning the US Air Force are struggling to replace the satellites. Rolling sat-nav blackouts are predicted for late 2010 and if this proves the case then map reading skills will be vital.
So if you don’t know your trekking signs from your motoring then take a look at our Map Legends section for a simple explanation.

The British Library exhibition on maps opened last week and is showing 2,000 years of map-making history, admission is free and runs until 19 September.