Perthes kolonial: Das Geschäft mit der Kartierung Afrikas, Lateinamerikas und Ozeaniens (1871–1945)

Against the backdrop of current debates on colonial history, the project examines how the Gotha-based map publisher Justus Perthes, in the 19th and 20th centuries, processed knowledge derived from contexts of colonial conquest and appropriation, and made it accessible to various target groups – such as trading houses, shipping companies and educational institutions – as part of specific business strategies, for example through maps of mineral deposits.

A central foundation is the globally unique Perthes Collection, which documents not only map holdings but also their production processes, distribution channels and, in some cases, reception, thereby providing rare insights into economic dynamics such as market success, product strategies and distribution reach. The project systematically links these perspectives on business and economic history with the question of the emergence of colonial knowledge cultures in Europe, thereby contributing to research into the interconnection of cartography, economics and colonial knowledge production.

The research project is being carried out by the Research College for Transcultural Studies/Perthes Collection and is led by Prof. Dr Christiane Kuller, holder of the Chair of Modern and Contemporary History and History Didactics, Dr Iris Schröder, spokesperson for the research project and holder of the Chair of Global History, and PD Dr Felix Schürmann, research coordinator and research fellow in colonial history at the Historical Museum of Frankfurt am Main. Participating researchers are: Prof. Dr Anna Neovesky, Dr Florian Wagner and Dr Petra Weigel.

The Thüringer Aufbaubank is funding the project until February 2029.

News entry: New research project "Perthes colonial" launched