Maps that Matter

Heartlands Theory map

Date: 1904

Creator: Sir Halford John Mackinder (1861 - 1947)

• First published in the 1904 article, The Geographical Pivot of History.

• Foundational idea in geopolitics: “Who rules East Europe commands the Heartland; Who rules the heartland commands the World Island; Who rules the World Island commands the World.”
• Geopolitical mapping linking politics to territorial control published ever since. Contemporary resonance; e.g. Barnett’s Pentagon’s New Map.