Lake America? Donald Trump Is a Victorian Cartographer
Summary
President Donald Trump has suggested renaming Lake Ontario as "Lake America," reflecting his intention to assert U.S. dominance symbolically during strained trade talks with Canada. This idea is part of a broader pattern where Trump uses place names to emphasize American power, similar to British imperial practices in the 19th century.Key Facts
- President Trump proposed renaming Lake Ontario to "Lake America" amid a trade dispute with Canada.
- The suggestion came shortly after U.S.-Canada trade talks failed and tariffs were announced.
- Renaming places is a way to symbolically claim control without needing physical conquest.
- Trump previously issued an order to rename the Gulf of Mexico as the "Gulf of America."
- His naming policy also replaced the Indigenous name Denali with Mount McKinley, honoring a U.S. president linked to territorial expansion.
- Ontario’s name comes from an Iroquois word related to the lake’s original name, which Trump’s proposal would replace.
- The plan involves changing members of the federal Board on Geographic Names, which decides official U.S. map names.
- The article compares Trump’s approach to 19th-century British imperial cartographers who renamed places to assert power.
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