Why can colonial maps be called tools of power?

Correct answer: They helped decide borders, resources and administrative control

Direct answer: A. Colonial maps were not merely pictures of land. By surveying and representing territory, colonial authorities could define boundaries, classify regions, identify resources, plan roads and railways, collect taxes and organise administration and military movement. Mapping also made complex local spaces easier for an outside government to describe and control. A is correct because it connects maps with borders, resources and practical administration, all of which support political power. B is wrong because colonial maps had administrative and economic purposes, not only decorative value. C is wrong because maps made by colonial authorities generally strengthened external control rather than proving local self-rule. D is wrong because maps could support trade routes, ports, resource extraction and transport planning. A balanced answer should remember that maps are representations shaped by the purposes of their makers. Memory cue: mapping territory can make territory governable.