So I was looking at the Wikipedia entry on the Moors (aka “The Moops”) and came across this map of the Eastern Hemisphere in 476 by Thomas Lessman. I like maps, especially political maps. I always find them fascinating, but I was bit surprised (well actually I wasn’t really) that Europe had such a high density of “countries” while the rest of world was just broad swaths. Case in point. Australia is just one big swath, while the British Isles, an area smaller than the state of Illinois, has 53(!) “nations.” Yeah right. I’m supposed to believe that every damn hut in Wales is a beautiful and unique people that shouldn’t be lumped together with anyone else, while the Aborigines of Australia are as indistinguishable from each other as are the “Siberian Peoples.”
Now I don’t blame Lessman for this. He’s just some sysadmin/part-time libertarian candidate for the Kansas State House. He probably just created the map from cobbling together other maps. I suspect his map is just reflecting the inherent bias in his primary sources. If he had access to primary sources that had higher resolution in other parts of the world, then he’d reflect that. That said, he could have just as easily said, “This is stupid. These are just ‘Britannia Peoples,’” and been done with it.
Seriously. These maps, while useful, reflect the hyperlocalism that pervades Europe. You aren’t that special folks, and your town is not a country.