Imperial Boundary Making

Matthew Tillotson demonstrates how the creation of boundaries and borders was not simply a matter of imposing the results of diplomatic decision-making arrived at in distant European centres of power but involved a much more complex process. His nuanced reading departs from conventional historical narratives on imperial and colonial boundary-making to illustrate how the work of professional geographers played a key role in the process, how their readings and understandings of the local landscapes played an important and mediating role. With a wealth of archivally driven examples the book will appeal to historical and political geographers and imperial and colonial historians.