Digital Tools 4

Mapping History

You’ve already embedded an interactive map in your second Digital Tools assignment. Now, for your fourth Digital Tools Assignment, you will use a more robust mapping tool to create a visual and spatial historical narrative. ArcGIS Online is an online interface for creating Geographical Information Systems (GIS). GIS is a means of connecting data to a map, integrating location data (where things are) with all types of descriptive information (what things are like there). It does so by presenting data as layers that can be visualized on a base map. For this assignment, you’ll create one of those layers by georeferencing an early printed map from Old Maps Online to present geospatial data on a singular voyage of discovery (gathered from the Age of Exploration site) by creating and sharing your own ArcGIS Story Map.

We’ll work together on Steps 1 and 2 of this assignment in class on Thursday, March 26. This assignment is due on GitHub by 11:59 pm on Friday, April 3.

Step 1: Choose a Voyage Dataset & Find a Historical Map

  1. Select a dataset of voyage coordinates and dates relating to one early modern voyage (between 1450 and 1800) from the Age of Exploration site. You’ll select your dataset from the .csv file that appears when you click Dowload Data at the top right of the Age of Exploration site.
  2. Right click the webpage and click Save As…. Save the file somewhere on your computer, making sure you add .csv to the end of the filename.
  3. Double check that you’ve created the file correctly by opening the .csv file you created (in Excel or Google sheets). Once the file is open, you can delete all the data you don’t need, keeping only the coordinates and dates for your chosen voyage.
  4. Now that your dataset is selcted, visit Old Maps Online to find a historical map that matches the region and era of your voyage. For example, if you’ve selected Captain Cook’s first voyage, you might want to find a map of Polynesia and Australia from the early 1800s.
  5. You can find a map that fits the bill by using the bottom timeline slider to adjust the era of map you’re looking for, and then changing the map view to focus on the area of the globe you’d like to see maps for. Make sure the map you choose is from the David Rumsey Collection (you can tell because you’ll see the black box with the David Rumsey logo next to the map image.)
  6. After finding a map to work with in Open Maps Online, navigate to David Rumsey Map Collection and copy-and-paste the title of the map you’ve selected into the search box. You’ll be able to see the full title of your chosen map if you click the Document button at the far right of the menu directly above the map.
  7. Once you’ve located your map on the David Rumsey Map Collection, click Export at the top right and select Extra Large. You’ll get a folder with a .jpg file and a .txt file. You don’t need the .txt file, but save the .jpg file somewhere you’ll remember on your computer.

Step 2: Georeference your chosen map with ArcGIS

  1. Log into ArcGIS Online and click Map in the top menu.
  2. Click the plus sign at the top left and select Add Media Layer. Drop and drop the downloaded .jpg file of your chosen historical map into the box.
  3. Once your image loads, your historical map will appear over the base layer world map. You now have the opportunity to align it with the base map, roughly georeferencing it for future use.
  4. You’ll have the option to move the image around, resize it, and even rotate it, if necessary. You can play with the transparency slider so you can see both the historical map and base layer to line them up.
  5. Once you get the map roughly where you want it, at the bottom left, click Side-by-Side to create a set of georeferenced points. Essentially, you’ll place each of the four points in exactly the same spot on both maps. This will warp the map to more accurately create a georeferenced layer.
  6. Save the map you’ve created to your account.

Step 3: Create your Story Map with ArcGIS

  1. Visit storymaps.arcgis.com and log in using your username and password for ArcGIS.
  2. Create a new Story Map, titling it whatever seems best for your particular voyage of exploration. Click the plus sign to add an element and scroll down to select Map Tour. Select Start from Scratch and then select a Map Focused Guided Tour, the option on the top left.
  3. Click the pencil icon in the map section of your StoryMap. When the new map menu opens, click the box under Select basemap and select Browse more maps. This should bring you to a page with your saved content, where you can select your saved georeferenced historical map.
  4. Now you can create a StoryMap with the coordinates of your selected voyage of exploration. Each coordinate should be one a slide in the story. You’ll add a location for a each slide, and upload a photo (use your imagination) and a brief decription of that stage of your chosen voyage.
  5. Once you’re finished with your StoryMap, you’ll need to Publish it so that it can be embedded in your post. Be sure to select Public from the dropdown menu, but you can deselct “Allow duplication” and “Show in Web Search Results.”
  6. Once your StoryMap is published, open up your StoryMap to view it, and click the three dots in the topbat menu at the far right. Select Embed this story and then copy the code that appears.

Step 4: Compose your post

  1. Create a Markdown file according to our course protocols (fork or open the spring-2026 repository in your personal account, locate the _posts folder, and create or upload a file named YYY-MM-DD-Your Title.md.) Note: Do not name your file Digital Tools 4. We can’t have multiple files merged with the same filename. They’ll overwrite one another once I merge your post into the course repo. Think of something more creative!
  2. Compose a 4-5 paragraph post responding to the following question:
    • What boyage of exploration did you choose and why?
    • How does your historical map reflect the scope of geographic knowledge, navigational skill, and cartographic expertise at the time of your chosen voyage?
    • How did your particular voyage of exploration transform the way the world was understood and depicted at the time?
    • In your opinion, have digital tools for map-making and geocoding, captured in Geographic Information Systems, transformed the way we understand visualize and understand human interaction with the physical world in the same ways as ‘tracks on the ocean’ as described by Sara Caputo?
  3. Decide where you’d like your StoryMap to appear in your post, and then paste the embed code you copied from ArcGIS online, making sure to wrap the code in <html> tags.

Step 5: Submit your post

Commit your changes and submit a pull request to technologies-of-history/spring-2026, and you’re done!