Any serious study into the Edwardian era will unearth a stunning array of double-dealing, back-biting, secret treaties, war-mongering, and imperialistic dreams between European, American, and Asian nations, which resulted in tension so thick, you could cut with it a rattling saber. I plan to discuss more of what GD Falksen so cleverly called “the steampunk cold war” (which it is, in the context of both steampunk and real life history), but for now, I leave you with a few tragically funny maps drawn by political satirists of the day. Click on the maps for a closer look.

Serio-comic Map of Europe, 1877

Angling in Troubled Waters, 1899

A Humorous Diplomatic Atlas of Europe and Asia, 1904

Chinese view of the world, 1912

Map 1 from here, Map 2 from here, Map 3 from here, Map 4 from here.

2 Responses to “Serio-Comic Maps of International Tensions”

1. heidenkind Says:
   April 30th, 2010 at 1:59 PM

   That’s cool! The octopus makes me think of Cthulhu.

2. Beyond Victoriana Special Edition Odds & Ends #4 « Beyond Victoriana Says:
   April 30th, 2010 at 6:40 PM

   [...] Edwardian Promenade is also featuring Imperial Maps in its latest post. The maps are fascinating, because each one is based on the perspective of the mapmaker’s national origin, where you see various imperial empires portraying each other as ruthless, threatening entities. Serio-Comic Maps of International Tensions [...]