Posted on 04/28/2015 11:49:43 AM PDT by iowamark
The 5-foot-long chart below has an ambitious goal: To record 4,000 years of history in a single graphic.
Drawn by John B. Sparks of Rand McNally and Company in 1931, the chart traces world history from the Egyptian Empire through the Assyrians, Persians, Romans and Huns through the early 20th Century. Its clearly a Eurocentric and dated view of the worlds history: The colors represent different racial groupings, as they were perceived in the 1930s Mediterranean People, Alpine People, and Mongolian People.
The width ostensibly shows the rise and fall of these groupings, though that metric seems far from fair -- China is given just a sliver of the chart at the right-hand side, and India even less. Even so, the chart is an interesting historical artifact, showing how Europeans and Americans conceived the history of the world in the early 20th Century.
Republished courtesy of the David Rumsey Map Collection, www.davidrumsey.com.
(Excerpt) Read more at washingtonpost.com ...
Chart starts at 1950BC. The British empire was in its infancy 3000+ years later and is well represented on the chart.
I remember seeing this or something similar when I was in high school (1982-85).
>>What other African kingdoms have been world powers?
Nigeria; I’ve heard from several descendants of her kings, generals, and admirals, all asking to give me a share of the imperial fortunes.
And I would swear I’ve heard Louis-Louis Fairatcons mention Kwaanzanastania.
Thanks for posting it! I love the useful way the author shows the ebb and tide of civilizations by how much space they take up on the chart. And also when they tail out and finally disappear . . . .
Really cool!
A great graphic, and thanks for posting. I notice they’ve left out the Hyborean Age.
A great graphic, and thanks for posting. I notice they’ve left out the Hyborean Age.
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