When the world's at stake,
go beyond the headlines.

Welcome to Mid-Afternoon Map, our exclusive members-only newsletter that provides a cartographic perspective on current events, geopolitics, and history from the Caucasus to the Carolinas. Subscribers can look forward to interesting takes on good maps and bad maps, beautiful maps and ugly ones — and bizarre maps whenever possible.Seldom has a Prussian invasion been treated with so much whimsy. In 1916, amidst a national debate over American entry into World War I, Life Magazine weighed in with a warning about the potential price of staying out. The tone was light-hearted, but the argument was serious: If Germany triumphed on the continent, America was at risk.Life Magazine, February 10, 1916.The first thing that stands out on this map is that some of the invaders’ naming decisions are more creative than others. New Potsdam, New Berlin and New Hamborg appear alongside Ach Looey, Schlauterhaus, and Denverburg. The Great Lakes have been renamed after beers, which naturally raises the question of where Culmbacher went.Bismarck, of course, is still Bismarck.After presumably tense negotiations, Germany’s Ottoman allies have been left with Florida. Alongside Baghdad Corners and Constantinople Junction, Key West has become West Turkey. Japan, despite siding with Britain and the Allies, has nonetheless taken the opportunity to seize the West Coast, leading to the particularly inspired Nagaseattle. Sadly, no one seems to have bothered with Canada, which remains the land of Barbarians.Inevitably, America’s geographic position meant that works like this one would remain more fun and fantastical than the equivalent invasion literature that emerged on the other side of the Atlantic. Yet the anxieties at play were similar to those that helped drive European powers to war in 1914. Particularly striking in this regard is the inclusion of an “American Reservation” spanning Arizona and New Mexico. At the outset of the 20th century, Europeans seem