From Dublin to Dehra Dun: Language, Translation and the Mapping of Ireland and India

Abstract

This chapter highlights the visual literacy of national territory and colonial space and makes clear the links between cartographic and scientific modes of reading colonial landscapes and the interpretation and containment of colonial peoples. The monetary value of English literacy within the British economy was doubtless an inducement to learn for many Irish. Literacy in English equipped the Irish to work and move throughout the British Empire, as well as allowing many to access the means for transatlantic immigration. This chapter argues that the history of the making of empire is also inextricably bound to the histories of science and cartography in the nineteenth century. Looking at the visual literacy of national territory and colonial space through the national surveys of Ireland and India undertaken in the period, it shows that the discourse and practice of map-making was shaped by the introduction of instruments known as ‘Colby’s Compensation Bars’ used to accurately measure baselines under challenging climatic conditions. The language and techniques of science were translated from Dublin’s Ordnance Survey to Dehra Dun where George Everest would use them in his baseline survey of India in the 1830s.