The Role of Cadastral Surveys and Maps in Land Settlement from England

The role of surveying and mapping the landscapes of colonial settlement is discussed. Cadastral maps (maps of landed property) have been used since the end of the Middle Ages by individuals and institutions to establish title to land. From the 17th century, cadastral maps were used by state governments in both the Old and New Worlds to organize, control and record the settlement of 'empty' landscapes. Maps were the instruments that enabled the settlement ideals of colonial governments to be realized. These ranged from the encouragement of large plantations, as on the southern seaboard of North America, to individual proprietorship of holdings disposed with the regularity of the grid, as with the federal land disposals of the USA. They also encompassed the strict limitation of land availability in order to establish a capitalist society with farmers and wage labourers, as in the Wakefield settlements of Australia and New Zealand.