Lines on Maps

by Ben Soton

 A History of The World in 47 Borders: The Stories Behind the lines on Maps by John Elledge. Wildfire Headline Publishing Group. Pbk: 2025, 384pp, rrp £10.99. Hbk: 2024, 368pp, rrp £25.

Written by podcaster and journalist, John Elledge, this book goes a great deal of the way to explaining how borders have shaped history and how history has shaped borders.  His work, which comes under the field of historical geography, starts with the ancient world and ends in the present day. It contains a plethora of interesting facts making the study of borders a unique angle from which to view history.  
Ultimately borders arose with the first civilisations and the advent of class society; marking out the line where the power of one ruler ended and another began. For much of human history there were large parts of the planet not controlled by any specific state – or at least no one recognised by those who made the maps. It is often said that history is written by the victors. we could also add that so are maps.  
The book defines what a border is which is not the same as a boundary as well as citing numerous disputed frontiers. Some borders were created by external forces; namely foreign officials drawing lines on a map such as the Sykes-Picot agreement that divided up the Middle East between Britain and France during World War I or the carve up of Africa decades earlier. These borders, noticeable by their straight lines, make no consideration of local factors and often divide long established communities. Other borders, such as those in Europe are based on natural boundaries such as rivers. However even this has its pitfalls with rivers often changing course; moving in one direction or another.
The History of The World in 47 Borders starts in Ancient Egypt and ends in outer space –  apparently there is even disagreement as to where space begins.  The chapter on feudalism is interesting; the author points out that the term was not used until the early modern period when the system was on its way out. Meanwhile when anyone says that as far as open borders are concerned, they are to the right of Genghis Khan, they need reminding that the Mongol Empire was a borderless zone from the Pacific to the borders of Hungary.
Borders are in the news at the moment and are likely to be for some time. They may well still be a necessary evil and frankly getting rid of them is almost certainly utopian. But if you want a better understanding of the issue then reading this book may be a start.