Global InformationCartography of New York City information
The cartography of New York City is the creation, editing, processing and printing of maps that depict the islands and mainland that now comprise New York City and its immediate environs.[1] The earliest surviving map of the area is the Manatus Map.[1]
According to Robert T. Augstyn and Paul E. Cohen in their study Manhattan in Maps: 1527 - 1995, New York City is unique in that it is young enough that, unlike major European and Asian cities, and unlike other American cities of about the same age, its early maps have survived. Further, its founding as a city for European immigrants came during the early- and mid-seventeenth century, a golden age of mapmaking with its center in Holland. When New Amsterdam was a young colony, Amsterdam was turning out more accurate maps than ever before in history. As a commercial city, the merchants and seafarers of the new colony needed more and better maps so they could monitor and extend their commercial activities.[2]
When the British took over New Amsterdam and renamed it New York, surveying and mapmaking continued, but at a slower pace, which was connected to the reduced rate of growth of the city under British rule, and the lack of close administration of the colony by the mother country than had been the case under the Dutch.[2]
During the American Revolution, New York City and its environs was an early battleground, and then the headquarters of the British. This provoked maps to be used in military campaigns, or in the defense of the city. New York became "the most thoroughly mapped urban area in America."[2]
- ^ a b Bahr, Sarah (July 16, 2020). "Online Map Collection Provides a Peek at New York Over the Centuries". The New York Times. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved May 27, 2021.
- ^ a b c Cohen & Augustyn (1997), p.10