Map-making, Landscapes and Memory: A Geography of Colonial and Early Modern Ireland, C. 1530-1750 (Critical Conditions: Field Day Essays & Monographs) Book

Using the concepts of "colonialism" and "early modernity," William J. Smyth offers a geographical analysis of the most revolutionary period in Ireland's history. He analyzes the conquest and settlement of Ireland by the English and Scottish and the consequences of their often violent intrusion upon the cultures and landscapes of preexisting Irish societies. Smyth focuses on the ways in which the British state subjugated Irish territories, including a systematic use of surveillance techniques; implementation of mapping and inventories of strategic landscapes and resources; and development of bureaucracies and administrative techniques of law and the market economy so as to obliterate regional expression of Gaelic cultures and practices. What results is a fresh interpretation of Ireland's experiences in this crucial early modern period. "This book tackles grand themes on a grand scale. . . . William Smyth's great achievement is to show that so much of the early geography of early modern Ireland can be recovered and that so many topics can be mapped in considerable detail. An outstanding feature is the inclusion of more than one hundred maps . . . sixteen pages of colour plates allow the reproduction, in astounding clarity, of some of the most relevant manuscript maps compiled for English intelligence. These maps are an eye-opener to the embedded nature of Irish regional variations, challenging us to treat history with respect for geography." -The Irish Times "The story of Ireland c. 1530-1750 will always be retold. But few retellings will bring such a freshness of eye or depth of analysis as Map-making, Landscapes and Memory. Brilliantly conceived and meticulously researched, it captures the complexity and subtlety of Ireland's changing landscapes, identities, mentalities, and spaces with great skill and considerable style. Few authors can have done more to release the meaning embedded in maps, whether those produced by sixteenth- and seventeenth-century surveyors like Robert Lythe, Richard Bartlett, and Sir William Petty, or those produced in abundance by himself." --Robert A. Dodgshon, University of Wales, AberystwythRead More