“Upon its surface men can still exercise unjust laws, fight, tear one another to pieces, and be carried away with terrestrial horrors. But at 30 feet below its level, their reign ceases, their influence is quenched, and their power disappears.”
Now, more than 150 years later, geopolitics experts are warning that Verne’s final sentiment - expressed via the character of Captain Nemo - was wrong. From seabeds and sea caves to sea canyons, underwater ridges, seamounts, sea knolls and reefs, academics say countries are using the politics of nationalism to permanently stamp their mark on the topography of the ocean.
Klaus Dodds, professor of geopolitics at Royal Holloway, University of London, says countries are engaged in a “scramble for the oceans”.
“There’s more and more ocean grabbing going on in the world, because countries have been given legal permission to do that.”
Dr Sergei Basik, a geographer at Conestoga College in Ontario, Canada, says a relatively recent process of 3D mapping the ocean floor has allowed nations to assert their sovereignty over newfound undersea features, known as “bathyonyms”.
Just as in 1492, when a new map of the ocean inspired and emboldened Christopher Columbus to set sail across the world to find a new trade route to Asia, leading to the colonisation of America, the once murky abyss of the ocean has now resolved into clearly defined topographical features on a 3D map. All of these require a name - and nation states hungry for valuable natural resources and territory are staking symbolic claims on their “discoveries”.
This story is from the October 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 19, 2024 edition of The Guardian.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 9,000+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
Money hacks How to get your finances ready for a new baby
Raising a child from birth to the age of 18 costs, on average, £166,000 for a couple, and £220,000 for a lone parent in 2023, according to Child Poverty Action Group's annual cost of a child report. Affordability is regularly cited by people who would like to have children as a key reason for holding off doing so.
Teachers' pensions 'I'm in despair as my debts mount'
Delays to pension pot valuations are 'causing huge distress' and costing money for divorcing couples. Rupert Jones reports
Property Homeowners face huge bills when leases expire
Those unaware of how the system works can be left stumping up thousands despite paying off a mortgage. Diane Taylor reports
Price shock Are you feeling better off now? Why US voters should, but may not, say yes
Are you feeling better off now? Why US Voters should, but may not, say yes
Retail sales growth slowed in September despite boost from technology spending
Sales growth in shops in Great Britain slowed last month as an increase in purchases of technology was tempered by the largest monthly fall in spending at supermarkets this year.
UK care home chain sold to US investment company
One of Britain's largest care home chains, Care UK, has been sold to a US property investment company, the Guardian can reveal, in a deal that comes as private providers lobby government for a greater role in the NHS.
Flatten or refashion Can new purpose be found for empty shopping centres?
In Bolton's town centre, the gap-toothed brutalist facade of Crompton Place shopping centre faces off against its majestic Victorian town hall.
Ex-spy for India charged with masterminding US murder plot
US authorities have charged a former Indian intelligence officer with allegedly masterminding a murder-for-hire plot against a prominent Sikh separatist in New York City last year.
Tomb finds at Petra are thrilling - but what do they really reveal?
For one of the most famous ancient sites on the planet, there is a surprising amount about the city of Petra - and the Nabataean people who built it - that we don't know for sure.
Enough already The Tokyo company that resigns for you
Mari was just two months into her new job when she decided she had had enough. The position at an online bank in Tokyo, found through a staffing agency, had looked like a perfect fit for the 25-year-old, a member of Japan's legions of temporary workers. But she quickly became despondent.