内容摘要：Born in Barcelona in 1950 to Republican parents who faced oppression under

Born in Barcelona in 1950 to Republican parents who faced oppression under

A heated, centuries-long debate resurfacesCartographers as far back as the early 20th century knew the Mercator projection was problematic.

Developed by Flemish cartographer Gerardus Mercator in 1599, the projection was one of the first ever to represent arched, imaginary sailing courses as visible, straight lines. Its simplicity for sea navigation cemented its popularity at the time, but its huge errors soon became hard to ignore.“It preserves shapes and angles, and that’s good for navigation, but it’s terrible for scale,” geography professor Lindsay Frederick Braun of the University of Oregon said of the Mercator map. The map is most suitable for local area mapping and is used by digital platforms like Google Maps.When enlarged into a world map, though, Mercator becomes problematic, Braun said. The map’s mistakes were not likely to be a conspiracy against Africa or the Global South, but its continued use, he added, is inherently political.

“Part of the reason Mercator got wide use is because it was widely available for nautical charts, but also because it rings true as a vision of the world to the people who were looking at it, the people whose countries are a little bigger.”Several map projections over time have tried to fill Mercator’s gaps, but all of them compromise on one or more factors. That has made it hard for social justice crusaders looking to support a projection that better represents the Global South.

One cartographer’s claims, though, shook the cartography world in 1973, causing an outpouring of condemnation on the one hand, and on the other, a loyal cult following.

German activist Arno Peters declared his Peters Projection as the “only” precise map, and the true alternative to the Mercator model.Palestinian researcher

documented detailed records of what happened to these 530 villages in his book,The Atlas of Palestine

Where are Palestinian refugees today?Some six million registered Palestinian refugees live in at least 58 camps located throughout Palestine and neighbouring countries.