Why Africa’s True Size Matters: The Fight to #CorrectTheMap with Equal Earth The push to "correct the map" isn't a sudden 2025 phenomenon—it's the latest chapter in a 500-year saga where cartography has been weaponized, debated, and reformed. Maps have never been mere drawings; they're instruments of power, shaping how empires expand, how resources are claimed, and how identities are formed. The African Union's endorsement of the Equal Earth projection on August 14, 2025, via the Correct the Map campaign, echoes historical efforts to dismantle visual biases rooted in European dominance. To understand this, we need to trace the evolution from ancient mapping to modern alternatives, highlighting how projections like Mercator became "default" through inertia, imperialism, and convenience. 1. Ancient Roots: Maps as Symbols of Control Before Projections Long before Gerardus Mercator's 1569 innovation, maps were political artifacts. In ancient Mesopota...