Assignment 14 – GIS – Section 01

Learning Goal: Students should show proficiency in reading and using maps.
Learning Goal: Students should understand how to operate an online map.
Learning Goal: Students should understand how to understand the data presented in a GIS map and why historians use GIS as a tool.
Learning Goal: Students should show they are able to use data from maps and GIS to make educated guesses about history.

Look through sources 3 and 4 and observe how the historical data is presented. You could read through the raw data by itself, but instead the data is organized on an interactive map to make it easier for a reader to digest and connect different pieces of information together. Being able to use GIS in this way is important for the study of history.
Steps:

  1. Open Google My Maps and select “Create a new map”.
  2. Add Each of these locations to your map in this order and draw a route for a sea vessel that reaches them all. After Calicut (Kozhikode), draw the route back to Suzhou following the locations listed (do not connect the route to every location on the way back). Use the “Draw Line” tool below the search bar to draw your route.
    • Suzhou
    • Taicang
    • Fuzhou
    • Qui Nhon
    • Van Phong Bay
    • Nha Trang
    • Con Dao Island
    • Surabaya
    • Semarang
    • Jakarta
    • Palembang
    • Malacca
    • Deli Serdang Regency
    • Kingdom of Samudera Pasai (Samudera)
    • Lamuri Kingdom (near Pak Meng Dock)
    • Ceylon (near Mandaivitu)
    • Kayal (Korkai)
    • Galle
    • Beruwalle
    • Kotte
    • Colombo
    • Quilon (Kallam)
    • Calicut (Kozhikode)
    • Quilon (Kallam)
    • Malacca
    • Palembang
    • Suzhou
  3. Title your map and click the “Share” button in the top left. Enable “Anyone with this link can view” and “Let others see your name and photo on this map” so your name is credited.
  4. Copy and paste the link into your assignment document.
  5. Find “Route 1” in the Zheng He Interactive Map and compare the source to your map.
  6. Answer the questions below:
    a. What differences do you notice between the two routes, like the direction of travel and distance to shore?
    b. How did having an accurate satellite map help you plot your route?