Maps of Jamaica from 1494 to 2017


Visualization

Introduction

For this lab I was asked to review a timeline of the milestones in the history of thematic cartography, statistical graphs, and data visualisation and choose a topic interest from that timeline to create my own timeline using the online visualisation tool TimelineJS. I gravitated towards three different points on the timeline: (1) the oldest known map (cartography), (2) mapping prostitutes in Paris (statistics and graphics), and (3) first photograph (technology). I initially chose to explore the topic of mapping prostitutes in Paris, but for reasons explained in my discussion my final topic was cartography, specifically mapping Jamaica.

Materials

Software:

  • TimelineJS

Research resources used for this lab were:

  • Google
  • Wikipedia
  • Wikipedia Commons
  • Architect of the Capital
  • co.uk
  • The National Library of Jamaica
  • The Royal Society Publishing
  • University of Texas Libraries
  • The David Rumsey Map Collection

Methods

We received step-by-step instructions during the lab to follow along on our own computer.

  1. Go to http://timeline.knightlab.com
  2. Click “Make a Timeline”
    1. Directs user to “Make a Timeline” instructions on the webpage
  3. Download the Google Spreadsheet Template by clicking on “Get Spreadsheet Template”
    1. User is redirected to Google Drive
    2. Click “Make a copy”
      1. This opens the preformatted template in Google Sheets
      2. Do not change column headers, remove any columns, or leave any blank rows
    3. Publish the Google Spreadsheet to the web
      1. File
      2. Published to the Web
      3. Click “Publish” in the popup window
      4. Close the popup window
      5. Now that the Google Spreadsheet is published to the web, copy the URL from the address bar
    4. Return to “Make a Timeline” section on the TimelineJS webpage
      1. Paste the published Google Spreadsheet URL in Step 3
      2. Once you have pasted the URL an embed code is created
    5. Retrieve the embed code at Step 4
      1. Copy the embed code
    6. Put the embed code in an html environment
      1. I used TextWrangler to type a simple html code to hold the embed code of the timeline

Code: <html><body>< <iframe ></iframe></body></html>

  1. Save the file as a .html
    1. This allows me to see the timeline live in a web browser while editing

For the remainder of the lab I conducted individual research on my topic and started entering data into my Google Spreadsheet.

Discussion and Results

During the lab session I started working on the topic of Alexandre Jean Baptiste Parent-Duchâtelet’s 1836 mapping of prostitutes in Paris. Research had taken up most of my in class lab time so for the in class peer review my timeline only consisted of a front page and the embedded Internet Archive digitised copy of Parent-Duchâtelet’s De la prostitution dans la ville de Paris. My peer also had the same limitations so our discussion focused on our topics, research process, and minor details about formatting in the Google Spreadsheet.

Upon further research I realised the majority of information about Parent-Duchâtelet’s mapping of prostitutes in Paris was published posthumously in 1836. Having all data my data points originate at 1836 is not good data for a timeline visualisation. At this point I decided to start over with a new topic, mapping Jamaica. While not required, it is more engaging when the topic of the visualisation is of interest. Being from Jamaica, I enjoyed researching maps for the timeline.

My timeline has 14 data points: introduction, three informational, and ten examples of maps of Jamaica (nine static, one interactive). Each data point has a date, headline, text, media, media credit, caption (only on two data points), and thumbnail. While TimelineJS is extremely user friendly it is also very restricting. Having no control over the placement of the media became and issue. I spent a significant amount of time searching for images to work within the restriction.

My timeline starts with a cover slide introducing the topic, Jamaica, with an 1827 map of the West Indies by Anthony Finley. The second is an informational data point about the Spanish “discovery” of Jamaica on May 5, 1494, with a painting by John Vandelyn of Christopher Columbus and members of his crew on a beach. The third data point is a simple 1528 map of Jamaica by Benedetto Bordone. The fourth data point is a 1562 map of Jamaica by Girolamo Ruscelli. The fifth data point is a 1572 map of Jamaica by Tomaso Porcacchi. The sixth is an informational data point about the British invasion of Jamaica, with an image of Passage Fort. The seventh data point is a 1671 map of Jamaica by John Ogilby showing plantation and settlements on the island. The eighth data point is a 1677 map of Jamaica by James Moxon based on survey data from 1664. The ninth data point is an 1835 map of the British West Indies by the Society for the Diffusion of Useful Knowledge. The tenth data point is an 1897 map of the new capital, Kingston by T. Harrison. The eleventh is an information data point about Jamaican Independence on August 6, 1962, with an image of HRH Princess Margaret opening the first session of Jamaican Parliament. The twelfth data point is 1962 map of Kingston by the Directorate of Overseas. The thirteenth data point is 1968 map of the Jamaican population distribution based on the 1960 census. The last data point is the embedded Google Map of Jamaica.

To help the user differentiate between Spanish, British, and Jamaican ownership I used country flags on the thumbnail as a visual representation of the country in power during that date. For aesthetic value I used the same media for the main and background image. Except for the embedded Google Earth Map of Jamaica, which has a background using Color Hex code #33333.

Future Directions

The assignment parameter was eight to ten examples of the data visualization, so I chose maps surrounding significant events in Jamaican history (Spain colonisation, British colonisation, Jamaican Independence). I would like to continue working on this timeline by adding more maps from both Spanish and British colonisation, as well as adding more recent maps that visualize different forms of information (tourism, import/export, education etc.).

Click Here to View Timeline

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