Tabula Africa IIII By Ptolemy: Map Analysis

The earliest map I looked at was called “Tabula Africa IIII” by Ptolemy. This map was very simple to read although it did not include a key. The map is colorless and is on kind of scroll looking paper which looks like the map was drawn and needed to be dried in the sun. The map was written in English but it only depicted one part of Africa. The map, however, shares a similarity with the other maps in the aspect that it does identify the presence of mountain ranges and bodies of water. I assume this map was originally made around the period of the ancient Egyptians or Hebrews because Ptolemy only showed North Africa on the map. At these two periods in time Africa was only relevant to the world because of the area of Mesopotamia so it would …show more content…
It gives a slight background of each group which is easy to read and understand. This map is different the previous maps because it is more of a map of people than the actual geography of Africa. Since National geographic decided that it was necessary to make a map of the people in Africa to educate the world, I think the world was still ignorant about Africa as a whole. Although people at that time may have seen maps of Africa they still held many stereotypes about Africans. The map of "The Peoples of Africa" shows the different major groups of people in Africa. As I study the different regions of Africa I begin to see similarities in the tribes of people that are around the same region. For example, the map says the Nuba people of Sudan are tall and dark skin because they originally lived in the plains of northern Africa. I also realized that the people in the same region would have similar movement patterns. For example tribes closer to the north showed more nomadic tendencies than the tribes of the east which were more farmer types. As a Cameroonian, I was looking at the heritages on the maps along the west coast and I found an answer to a question I always had the Ibo and Yoruba people of Nigeria: "Why is there such a rivalry between the two?". I have a lot of Nigerian friends and it seemed as if the Ibo and Yoruba ones would draw a big divide between two as if it were two different …show more content…
The features on this map such as keys and mini articles make this a very easy map to analyze and understand. I can tell that there was a popular sense of nationalism amongst Africans because almost every country was independent at this time according to the key. I think that it took so long for this surge of revolution to prosper because Africa had been greatly oppressed for centuries. Unlike the USA who gained its independence relatively early in history where people from Europe had fled to in order to establish a home, no one was fleeing to Africa start over. Africa had been made into a place of exploitation and oppression from the beginning of European imperialism. There are maps from 1914 and 1939 that show the original colonialism of Africa, so seeing a map in 1980 that indicates which period each country gained independence is a good visual for me to see that Africa is progressing throughout time. The additional writing on the side provides some insight on the troubles within the countries that still exist as a result of colonialism, regardless of independence. A mini-article informs me that although the countries are independent, colonialism has divided the people within the country often by language and cultural groups. However as a result of the gaining of independence I can see Africa’s industrialization. On the map of Africa in 1980,