Oceanopolítica: Therezinha de Castro and the use of maps in the geopolitics of the sea

Abstract

This paper explores the use of cartography in circulating geopolitical ideas about the seas. It focuses on the texts and maps produced by Therezinha de Castro (1930-2000), a Brazilian geopolitical thinker who influenced practical and popular geopolitical reasoning about Antarctica and the South Atlantic from the 1950s until her death in 2000. Through her papers, books, atlas and lectures, Castro addressed the oceans not as restrictive boundaries delimiting spaces of sovereignty but as a borderland, a transition zone and a territory of expansion. The paper first explores Castro’s academic trajectory and collaborations, supported by historical-geographical perspectives that emphasise the role of contingencies, positionalities, and biographies in knowledge production. Then, it analyses the persuasive visuality of Castro’s arguments on seas, drawing on methodological perspectives that articulate maps, meanings and geopolitics. Finally, the paper discusses how Castro’s claims on ocean geopolitics could contribute to contemporary human geography debates about land/sea assemblages.