Peter Whitfield, the author of several books on the history of maps, credits European mapmaking as a factor in the global spread of western power: "Men in Seville, Amsterdam or London had access to knowledge of America, Brazil, or India, while the native peoples knew only their own immediate environment" (Whitfield).
Peter Whitfield, autor nekoliko knjiga o povijesti karata, označuje europsku izradu karata kao faktor u globalnom širenju zapadnjačke moći: "Ljudi u Sevilli, Amsterdamu ili Londonu imali su pristup znanju o Americi, Brazilu ili Indiji dok su autohotni narodi poznavali samo vlastiti uski okoliš" (Whitfield).