Africa wants to change the world map

The world map as we know it – Mercator’s projection – is not totally accurate. Africa is now leading the movement to abandon it for good.

We already know that the centuries ago. First, because the relative size of countries and continents; In addition, the center of the world is not here next to the Atlantic, as we are used to seeing. In the “true world map”, the center is in the Pacific – e.

For most Westerners, there is no problem that the map of the world tells us a small lie. But not everyone is satisfied with the traditional representation of the world – or think the lie is small.

Last week, the African unioncontinental union with 55 member states, joined a campaign that appeals to organizations around the world replace the mercator map by an alternative that more accurately represents the size of Africa.

“It may only seem a map, but in reality it is not,” he told the UA committee vice president, Selma Malika Haddadiwho points out that the mercator fostered the false impression that Africa was a “marginal” continent – despite being the second largest in the world in area.

This effort is also supported by the Caribbean community, an intergovernmental group with 15 member states.

To traditional mercator projection It was created in 1569 by the Flamengo Cartographer Gerardus Merchant. It is a cylindrical projection, in which the globe is placed inside a cylinder and then Each point of the map is project At a corresponding point in the cylinder, explains the.

In the following centuries, during the age of discoveries and the Enlightenment, it became the Reference Map for Navigating Oceans and cross continents.

Even today, it is widely used in classroomsschool manuals, and in any traditional representation of the world – at least in the West.

The mercator projection was even used originally as the basis of the Google Mapsbut the program now presents Earth as a digital globe, leaving behind the distortions of the flat maps.

And this is where the problem resides: It is very difficult to represent a three -dimensional spherical object, such as planet Earth, in a two -dimensional plane, like a flat map. At some point, It is necessary to make commitments.

To circumvent this geometric difficulty, mercator projection distorts the size of the earth’s mass: the regions close to the poles seem biggerwhile the areas Near Ecuador are shrunk.

As a result, North America and Europe seem much greater What they really are, while Africa and the zones next to Ecuador are much smaller. For example, the projection of mercator makes that of what Africa, although, in reality, Africa is 14 times higher.

Many people in Africa, including the African Union, consider this extremely unfair distortionand argue that mercator projection should be replaced by an alternative, such as the projection, developed in 2018.

The issue goes beyond mere cartographic accuracy. The Mercator Map, argue the defenders of the Equal Earth projection, expands North America and Europe while Reduces Africa, reinforcing a west -centered view of the world, which marginalizes the African continent and minimizes its global importance.

“Africa is poorly represented in the world maps, and it’s not just a matter of geography – It is a reflection of how the world sees the continent”The campaign promoters, based in Africa, who want organizations such as the United Nations to adopt the Equal Earth map.

“By correcting the map, we intend change perceptions and highlight the true scale, power and potential of the African continent. Precise cartographic projections are essential not only for education and geography, But also to promote a deeper understanding of Africa’s role in the global community, ”they say.

However, No bidimensional map of the planet will be perfect. Critics argue that Equal Earth, as well as other models of alternative maps, also makes appointmentssuch as the projection of the mercator; It only does them in other aspects.

Indeed, although Equal Earth is better in accurate representation of the area surface, ends distort the shape of some regions.

Thus, the best way to understand the disposition of Earth’s earthly and oceans is – be it a digital version or a swivel physical sphere in an ancient library.