Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico poses a challenge for cartographers and teachers

After all, what is a name change?

The waters bordering the southern United States, Mexico and Cuba will be key to shipping lanes and vacationers, whether we call it the Gulf of Mexico, as it has been called for four centuries, or the Gulf of Mexico . Gulf of Americaas President Donald Trump this week ordered. North America’s highest peak will still tower over Alaska, whether it is called Mount Denali, as ordered by former President Barack Obama in 2015, or becomes Mount Denali again. Mt. McKinley as Trump also decreed.

But Trump’s territorial assertions, in line with his “America First” worldviewhas sparked a series of think pieces from mapmakers and teachers, mockery on social media and sarcasm from at least one other world leader. And although Florida Governor Ron DeSantis put Trump’s “Gulf of America” ​​into an official document and some other Gulf-adjacent states are considering doing the same, it was unclear how many others would follow. the example of Trump.

Mexican President Claudia Sheinbaum joked that if Trump decided to rename his country, his country would rename North America “Mexican America.” Tuesday, she toned it down: “For us and for the whole world, it will continue to be called the Gulf of Mexico.”

Card politics is undeniable

Map lines are inherently political. After all, these are representations of places that are important to human beings – and these priorities can be tricky and controversial, even more so in a globalized world.

There is no agreed scheme for naming boundaries and features across the Earth.

“Denali” is the Alaska Natives’ preferred name for the mountain, while “McKinley” is a tribute to President William McKinley, named in the late 19th century by a gold prospector. China considers Taiwan its own territoryand the countries surrounding what the United States calls the South China Sea have multiple names for the same body of water.

The Persian Gulf has been widely known by this name since the 16th century, although usage of the terms “Gulf” and “Arabian Gulf” is dominant in many Middle Eastern countries. The government of Iran – formerly Persia – threatened to sue Google in 2012 over the company’s decision not to label bodies of water on its maps at all. Many Arab countries do not recognize Israel and instead call it Palestine. And in many official versions, Israel calls the occupied West Bank by its biblical name“Judea and Samaria”.

Americans and Mexicans differ over what should be called another key body of water, the river that forms the border between Texas and the Mexican states of Chihuahua, Coahuila, Nuevo Leon and Tamaulipas. The Americans call it the Rio Grande; The Mexicans call it the Rio Bravo.

Trump’s executive order – titled “Restoring the Names that Honor American Greatness” – concludes: “It is in the national interest to promote our nation’s extraordinary heritage and ensure that future generations of American citizens celebrate the legacy of our heroes Americans. The naming of our national treasures, including breathtaking natural wonders and historic works of art, should honor the contributions of visionary and patriotic Americans to our nation’s rich past.

But what should we call this gulf with its 3,700 miles of coastline?

“It is, I suppose, an internationally recognized sea, but (to be honest) a situation like this has never happened before, so I have to confirm the appropriate convention,” said Peter Bellerby, who said he was discussing the matter. with cartographers from his London company, Bellerby & Co. Globemakers. “If, for example, he wanted to change the Atlantic Ocean to the American Ocean, we would probably ignore it.”

For some, it’s decision time

As of Wednesday evening, Google and Apple’s map applications were still calling the mountain and the gulf by their old names. Spokespeople for those platforms did not immediately respond to emailed questions.

A spokesperson for National Geographic, one of the most prominent cartographers in the United States, said this week that the company does not comment on individual cases and referred questions to a statement on its website, which says in part that it “strives to be apolitical, consult multiple authoritative sources, and make independent decisions based on thorough research.” National Geographic also has a policy of including explanatory notes for disputed place names, citing as an example a body of water between Japan and the Korean Peninsula, called the Sea of ​​Japan by the Japanese and the East Sea by the Koreans.

During a discussion on social media, one thread noted that the Sears Tower in Chicago was renamed Willis Tower in 2009, although it is still known by its original nickname. Pennsylvania’s capital, Harrisburg, renamed Market Street to Martin Luther King Boulevard, then reverted to Market Street several years later — with loud complaints each time. In 2017, New York’s Tappan Zee Bridge was renamed after the late Governor Mario Cuomo, which caused great controversy. The new name appears on maps, but “no one calls it that,” another user noted.

“Shall we start teaching this name to the body of water? asked a Reddit poster on Tuesday.

“I guess you can tell the students that SOME PEOPLE want to rename this body of water the Gulf of America, but everyone in the world calls it the Gulf of Mexico,” was one response. “Cover all your bases – they know the reality-based name, but also the seeker’s name.”

Another user wrote, “I’ll call it the Gulf of America when I have to call the Tappan Zee the Mario Cuomo Bridge, which is like never.” »