Mapping and Empire by Dennis Reinhartz, Gerald D. Saxon - 9780292726161

Mapping and EmpireSoldier-Engineers on the Southwestern Frontier\nAuthor(s): Dennis Reinhartz, Gerald D. Saxon\nFormat: Paperback\nPublisher: University of Texas Press, United States\nImprint: University of Texas Press\nISBN-13: 9780292726161, 978-0292726161\nSynopsis\nFrom the sixteenth through the mid-nineteenth centuries, Spain, then Mexico, and finally the United States took ownership of the land from the Gulf Coast of Texas and Mexico to the Pacific Coast of Alta and Baja California-today's American Southwest. Each country faced the challenge of holding on to territory that was poorly known and sparsely settled, and each responded by sending out military mapping expeditions to set boundaries and chart topographical features. All three countries recognized that turning terra incognita into clearly delineated political units was a key step in empire building, as vital to their national interest as the activities of the missionaries, civilian officials, settlers, and adventurers wh.