Cartographers need to play politics. Well, not all cartographers, drawing maps of sewer systems, for example, is different to drawing maps of rail networks. But for this situation, let's talk about drawing a map of the countries of the world.
How many countries are there? You might be thinking "Someone else has already done that for me, I'll just count them from someone else's map" well you could, but who's map are you counting from? "What do you mean, aren't they all the same?" you may be thinking- NO. "Well, then, let's ask the United Nations" you might be thinking- they will reply "193" (or maybe 195) "Okay" you're thinking, "Then why do different maps have different numbers? Are they wrong?" No "Are they outdated?" Well maybe, and historical maps are interesting, but let's assume that your maps are up-to-date. Why do different maps have different numbers of countries? Well that's simple, nobody can agree on what does and does not constitute a country. For example, is Hong Kong a country? Is Macau a country? At first you might be thinking "No, it's part of China" but think about it. Hong Kong and Macau's currencies are both different to Mainland China- Mainland China uses the Renmibi, Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong Dollar, and Macau uses the Macanese Pataca. Both cities drive on the left, when mainland China drives on the right, and they even have their own passport and immigration policies, separate laws and even different languages. So, they are separate countries? Well no. (Though to be fair, many countries don't, at least in the formal sense, take for example Iceland and Costa Rica), and they have no (official) diplomatic relations with other countries (unofficially, though, that's a different matter). Also, the People's Republic of China declares Hong Kong and Macau as part of their sovereign territory, as they were officially in every legal regarded handed to China by Britain and Portugal respectively. China is one of the countries which must officially recognise you in order for your country to be universally recognised, which is ironic, as we cannot even agree on what exactly China is. "What do you mean?" you ask, whilst pointing Beijing on your atlas, "China is this giant country here". "Well maybe, but what if this is "China" I reply, whilst pointing to Taiwan. You see, China is a country which is technically ruled by two different governments. When there was a civil war between the communists and the capitalists, the communists took much of the mainland, (now known as "Mainland China"), the capitalists took control of the island of Taiwan. The civil war never ended, meaning that both places claim themselves as the legitimate government of China. This is also the case with Korea, meaning that both Koreas consider themselves the only Korea, but with China, that applies on an international scale. Officially speaking, if you choose to recognise Taiwan, that means that the People's Republic of China cannot be recognised. If you choose to recognise the People's Republic, you cannot officially recognise Taiwan (the Republic of China). So which "China" is a country? Are they both countries? Well, that's a matter of opinion. Another one of the five countries which recognise must recognise you is the United States of America, but is the United States of America a country? Yes, yes it is, now, but in the late 1770s, it may not have been. For those who don't know, there were a series of 13 British colonies who wanted independence, so they united into what is now the United States of America and fought a war and defeated the British, only to have some of their own states want independence, forming the Confederate States of America (the CSA), fought the civil war, Their country was a complected limbo period as they were fighting for independence against the British. "But it's a country now, so therefore it was always a country" you might be thinking, well not exactly. Is the Confederate States of America a country? Of coarse not, they were a rebellious group of traitors. Well what's the difference between the status of the USA and the status of the CSA? The fact that the USA won the war, where the CSA. That's it. Had the CSA, it would have been the second American war of independence, and the CSA would have been a completely sovereign nation, like the USA is today. "Okay that's history" you're probably thinking, well yes, yes it is. However, this independence limbo is applicable to the modern world, is Kosovo an independent country or a part of Serbia? Are South Ossetia and Abkhazia part independent countries or are they part of Georgia? And there are many examples of this around the world. Further, other disputes such as Northern Cyprus. Whether or not you choose to recognise Northern Cyprus is your personal decision.
Another one of the five countries which must approve your entry into the United Nations is the United Kingdom. Now that's definitely a country, isn't it? Well yes, or is three? Or is it four? By which I mean, is the United Kingdom a single country, or are England, Scotland and Wales and different countries? What about Northern Ireland?
Another of the 5 members which must approve your entry into the UN is Russia. Whilst Russia may be a single country today, we must ask ourselves whether or not the the USSR a single country a collection of many countries?
At this point, you're probably thinking "so, all these countries which get to decide whether or not my country is a country or part of a bigger country have, at some point since the 1860s, not known whether or not regions were part of their countries, or independent countries, but surely the 5th country knows, right, right, right? Please tell me that the fifth country knows"
Well to answer your question, the final country is France
"Phew" you might be thinking. That's pretty simple. No, no "phew", because France doesn't know how much of its territory is France. "What are you talking about" you might be thinking, whilst pointing to the European portion of France on your globe. France is here. "Well, that's only Metropolitan France" I reply, whilst spinning the globe, you see...
France had a lot of colonies. Since decolonisation, many of these colonies didn't know whether they became full on departments of France, with equal status to the European departments or independent countries, and you know what, neither do we.
Some of these include French Polynesia (more commonly known by the name of its most popular island, Tahiti) is one of these territories, unsure of whether it's an independent country or a full part of France. The people of French Polynesia are citizens of France and have French passports. However, they have a different currency and different migration laws to France. French Polynesia is but one example of countries that don't know if they're French.
New Zealand also has territories which are unsure whether their independent countries or part of New Zealand. The residents of these territories are New Zealand citizens with New Zealand passports, however, they have different migration laws. These are the Cook Islands and Niue. Whilst New Zealand and Nuie share a currency, the Cook Islands have an independent currency, so are any of these independent countries?
Is Israel a country? Is Palestine a country? Israel is a member of the United Nations as it is universally recognised by the five countries which must recognise it, Palestine is not a member, as it is not observed. Some people choose to recognise Israel as the only country and Palestine an illegal state, and some choose to recognise Palestine as the only country and not Israel. So which is a country?
"Surely it's over," you must be thinking. "How much more complicated could it get?" Well, we haven't even discussed disputed territories yet. "Well what are disputed territories?" you might ask, well, picture this map. Country 1 and Country 2 share an island. They have well defined borders, except for the area in the middle. Who does the area in the middle belong to? Well, that's a bit of a grey area (get it? Grey area).
This applies to real life, where the region of Kashmir may belong to India or Pakistan. So who does it belong to? Well, that's a grey area. West Sahara is an area disputed between the Moroccans and the Sharwi Arab Democratic Republic. So who does it belong to?
"What has any of this got to do with drawing maps?" you might be thinking, well, cartographers can not put a mark on a map and say "Well maybe this is a country". Cartographers must make decisions on who they will and who they will not classify as countries. Cartographers must decide who is and is not a country. A cartographer cannot put a mark on a map that says "People's Republic? Taiwan?". A cartographer cannot put a mark on a map that says "French Polynesia: France?". A cartographer needs to be decisive, a cartographer needs to decide what is and what isn't a country, knowing that in many cases, which ever decision he/she will make, will upset a lot of people. A cartographer must decide which group of people to upset, and use his/her own discretion whilst doing it.
We as humans have created different groups which control different territories. Despite the fact that these territories have their own, independent human-run institutions to operate them, and despite the fact that there is a highly formal and highly organised human organisation in order to oversee the human territories, we still don't which humanity territory belongs to which group of people. And that's just... crazy...
How many countries are there? You might be thinking "Someone else has already done that for me, I'll just count them from someone else's map" well you could, but who's map are you counting from? "What do you mean, aren't they all the same?" you may be thinking- NO. "Well, then, let's ask the United Nations" you might be thinking- they will reply "193" (or maybe 195) "Okay" you're thinking, "Then why do different maps have different numbers? Are they wrong?" No "Are they outdated?" Well maybe, and historical maps are interesting, but let's assume that your maps are up-to-date. Why do different maps have different numbers of countries? Well that's simple, nobody can agree on what does and does not constitute a country. For example, is Hong Kong a country? Is Macau a country? At first you might be thinking "No, it's part of China" but think about it. Hong Kong and Macau's currencies are both different to Mainland China- Mainland China uses the Renmibi, Hong Kong uses the Hong Kong Dollar, and Macau uses the Macanese Pataca. Both cities drive on the left, when mainland China drives on the right, and they even have their own passport and immigration policies, separate laws and even different languages. So, they are separate countries? Well no. (Though to be fair, many countries don't, at least in the formal sense, take for example Iceland and Costa Rica), and they have no (official) diplomatic relations with other countries (unofficially, though, that's a different matter). Also, the People's Republic of China declares Hong Kong and Macau as part of their sovereign territory, as they were officially in every legal regarded handed to China by Britain and Portugal respectively. China is one of the countries which must officially recognise you in order for your country to be universally recognised, which is ironic, as we cannot even agree on what exactly China is. "What do you mean?" you ask, whilst pointing Beijing on your atlas, "China is this giant country here". "Well maybe, but what if this is "China" I reply, whilst pointing to Taiwan. You see, China is a country which is technically ruled by two different governments. When there was a civil war between the communists and the capitalists, the communists took much of the mainland, (now known as "Mainland China"), the capitalists took control of the island of Taiwan. The civil war never ended, meaning that both places claim themselves as the legitimate government of China. This is also the case with Korea, meaning that both Koreas consider themselves the only Korea, but with China, that applies on an international scale. Officially speaking, if you choose to recognise Taiwan, that means that the People's Republic of China cannot be recognised. If you choose to recognise the People's Republic, you cannot officially recognise Taiwan (the Republic of China). So which "China" is a country? Are they both countries? Well, that's a matter of opinion. Another one of the five countries which recognise must recognise you is the United States of America, but is the United States of America a country? Yes, yes it is, now, but in the late 1770s, it may not have been. For those who don't know, there were a series of 13 British colonies who wanted independence, so they united into what is now the United States of America and fought a war and defeated the British, only to have some of their own states want independence, forming the Confederate States of America (the CSA), fought the civil war, Their country was a complected limbo period as they were fighting for independence against the British. "But it's a country now, so therefore it was always a country" you might be thinking, well not exactly. Is the Confederate States of America a country? Of coarse not, they were a rebellious group of traitors. Well what's the difference between the status of the USA and the status of the CSA? The fact that the USA won the war, where the CSA. That's it. Had the CSA, it would have been the second American war of independence, and the CSA would have been a completely sovereign nation, like the USA is today. "Okay that's history" you're probably thinking, well yes, yes it is. However, this independence limbo is applicable to the modern world, is Kosovo an independent country or a part of Serbia? Are South Ossetia and Abkhazia part independent countries or are they part of Georgia? And there are many examples of this around the world. Further, other disputes such as Northern Cyprus. Whether or not you choose to recognise Northern Cyprus is your personal decision.
Another one of the five countries which must approve your entry into the United Nations is the United Kingdom. Now that's definitely a country, isn't it? Well yes, or is three? Or is it four? By which I mean, is the United Kingdom a single country, or are England, Scotland and Wales and different countries? What about Northern Ireland?
Another of the 5 members which must approve your entry into the UN is Russia. Whilst Russia may be a single country today, we must ask ourselves whether or not the the USSR a single country a collection of many countries?
At this point, you're probably thinking "so, all these countries which get to decide whether or not my country is a country or part of a bigger country have, at some point since the 1860s, not known whether or not regions were part of their countries, or independent countries, but surely the 5th country knows, right, right, right? Please tell me that the fifth country knows"
Well to answer your question, the final country is France
"Phew" you might be thinking. That's pretty simple. No, no "phew", because France doesn't know how much of its territory is France. "What are you talking about" you might be thinking, whilst pointing to the European portion of France on your globe. France is here. "Well, that's only Metropolitan France" I reply, whilst spinning the globe, you see...
France had a lot of colonies. Since decolonisation, many of these colonies didn't know whether they became full on departments of France, with equal status to the European departments or independent countries, and you know what, neither do we.
Some of these include French Polynesia (more commonly known by the name of its most popular island, Tahiti) is one of these territories, unsure of whether it's an independent country or a full part of France. The people of French Polynesia are citizens of France and have French passports. However, they have a different currency and different migration laws to France. French Polynesia is but one example of countries that don't know if they're French.
New Zealand also has territories which are unsure whether their independent countries or part of New Zealand. The residents of these territories are New Zealand citizens with New Zealand passports, however, they have different migration laws. These are the Cook Islands and Niue. Whilst New Zealand and Nuie share a currency, the Cook Islands have an independent currency, so are any of these independent countries?
Is Israel a country? Is Palestine a country? Israel is a member of the United Nations as it is universally recognised by the five countries which must recognise it, Palestine is not a member, as it is not observed. Some people choose to recognise Israel as the only country and Palestine an illegal state, and some choose to recognise Palestine as the only country and not Israel. So which is a country?
"Surely it's over," you must be thinking. "How much more complicated could it get?" Well, we haven't even discussed disputed territories yet. "Well what are disputed territories?" you might ask, well, picture this map. Country 1 and Country 2 share an island. They have well defined borders, except for the area in the middle. Who does the area in the middle belong to? Well, that's a bit of a grey area (get it? Grey area).
"What has any of this got to do with drawing maps?" you might be thinking, well, cartographers can not put a mark on a map and say "Well maybe this is a country". Cartographers must make decisions on who they will and who they will not classify as countries. Cartographers must decide who is and is not a country. A cartographer cannot put a mark on a map that says "People's Republic? Taiwan?". A cartographer cannot put a mark on a map that says "French Polynesia: France?". A cartographer needs to be decisive, a cartographer needs to decide what is and what isn't a country, knowing that in many cases, which ever decision he/she will make, will upset a lot of people. A cartographer must decide which group of people to upset, and use his/her own discretion whilst doing it.
We as humans have created different groups which control different territories. Despite the fact that these territories have their own, independent human-run institutions to operate them, and despite the fact that there is a highly formal and highly organised human organisation in order to oversee the human territories, we still don't which humanity territory belongs to which group of people. And that's just... crazy...
