The African Union’s complaints about the Mercator projection are misguided, writes Thomas Suárez. Plus a letter from Hamish MonkThe Mercator projection is not a product of European chauvinism (African Union joins calls to end use of Mercator map that shrinks continent’s size, 15 August). All map projections are compromises geared to a particular use, as a direct transference of a sphere on to a flat surface is mathematically impossible. The Mercator projection was a brilliant solution to a critical need of 16th-century pilots: a map on which they could plot a straight line that would be a “straight” line on the Earth.A mathematical marvel first put to paper by Gerard Mercator in 1569, it was not until 30 years later that the English mathematician Edward Wright sufficiently solved the complexities to make it practical. The Equal Earth map promoted by the African Union, like all others, simply makes different compromises for a different purpose. The African Union could well argue that the venerable Mercator projection is not the ideal choice for everyday use, but the notion that it marginalises Africa is a pointless distraction from real issues. European civilisation is guilty of centuries of crimes against the global south, but the Mercator projection is not one of them.Thomas SuárezLondon Continue reading…