# Research Discussion: Aerial Imagery, Mapping & Palestine’s Colonial Landscape with Dr. Nadi Abusaada Source: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oM3Vdpk7jes Recap page: https://rapidrecap.app/video/oM3Vdpk7jes --- ## Quick Overview Aerial imagery and mapping profoundly shaped Palestine's colonial landscape, serving as critical tools for military surveillance, scientific research, and counter-insurgency by Ottoman, German, and British forces between the World Wars, with Palestine acting as a key testing ground for global developments in these fields. **Key Points:** - Dr. Nadi Abusaada's research reveals that aerial photography and cartography were instrumental in Palestine's colonial landscape, extending beyond military uses to scientific and administrative control. - During World War I, the Palestine front became a primary site for innovations in aerial mapping, with Captain Hampshire Thomas devising a new cartographic method using overlapping photographs to map over 3,000 square kilometers of the country. - German orientalist Gustav Dalman used wartime aerial photographs to interpret Palestine's landscape, arguing that "only aerial photographs could replace the artificial image of the landscape with reality seen from above." - The British developed "combined action" strategies in Palestine during the 1936 Arab Revolt, coordinating ground and air forces to suppress elusive guerrilla fighters in the hills, a tactic later informing World War II strategies. - British counter-insurgency efforts in Palestine left dual traces: the construction of concrete Tegart forts and the destruction of urban areas, notably the dynamiting of large parts of Jaffa's Old City in 1936. - The destruction of Jaffa's Old City, described by the British as "the strategic opening of good wide roads through the old labyrinth of ali's," violently obliterated the city's commercial and residential heart, displacing hundreds of families. - Colonial administrators constantly adjusted aerial strategies to accommodate the land's topography, demonstrating that while aerial power shaped territory, it was also "shaped by it." **Context:** Dr. Nadi Abusaada, a postdoctoral fellow at MIT specializing in Islamic architecture and urbanism, delivered a lecture at the University of Toronto's Palestine Forum. The event was part of an initiative to build Palestine studies at U of T, and Dr. Abusaada's participation followed his earlier refusal to speak in solidarity with a censure against the university regarding academic freedom. His talk focused on his research into the history of aerial photography and its development in Palestine between the two World Wars, examining its relationship to the physical landscape and colonial rule. ## Detailed Analysis Dr. Nadi Abusaada's research explores the pivotal role of aerial imagery and mapping in shaping Palestine's colonial landscape from the late 19th century through the British Mandate. He argues that these tools were not merely military instruments but also served broader imperial and colonial objectives, including scientific research, territorial objectification, and counter-insurgency. The presentation is structured chronologically and topographically, examining the "desert," "hills," and "city." During World War I, Palestine became a crucial testing ground for aerial photography and cartography, with both Ottoman-German and British-Australian forces using aerial surveillance for military intelligence. Captain Hampshire Thomas notably developed a groundbreaking method for producing detailed maps from overlapping aerial photographs, mapping over 3,000 square kilometers. Post-war, these aerial images found new applications; German orientalist Gustav Dalman used them to interpret Palestine's landscape, advocating for a "reality seen from above" over romanticized biblical depictions. During the British Mandate, particularly the 1936 Arab Revolt, aerial power evolved into a key counter-insurgency tool. The British, learning from experiences in Iraq, developed "combined action" strategies in Palestine, coordinating air and ground forces to suppress elusive guerrilla fighters in the hilly central region. This strategy, deemed highly effective, later informed British military approaches in other colonies and during World War II. The colonial impact manifested in both construction (Tegart forts) and destruction, exemplified by the systematic dynamiting of Jaffa's Old City in 1936. This operation, presented as a technical "opening of good wide roads," violently displaced residents and obliterated the city's historic core, pushing organized resistance into rural areas. Abusaada concludes that while aerial power was instrumental in creating new facts on the ground and abstracting territory, it was also profoundly shaped by the specific topographies of deserts, hills, and cities, which dictated the transferability and effectiveness of different aerial technologies and strategies. ### Introduction and Context - The lecture introduces Dr. Nadi Abusaada's research on aerial photography and mapping in Palestine between the World Wars - Palestine's strategic significance heightened in the late 19th century as an Ottoman-British border, leading to cartography becoming a key instrument for marking imperial boundaries - The Ottomans built Beersheba as a planned city, designed to be viewed from above, to solidify their presence and urbanize the Bedouin population. ### World War I - Aerial Experimentation in the Desert and Central Regions: World War I introduced aerial power as crucial for winning ground battles, with both Ottoman-German and British-Australian forces establishing aerodromes and using aerial surveillance for military intelligence - German pilots concentrated photographs along Palestine's coastal and central regions, especially the Jaffa-Jerusalem railway line, to trace the theater of war - Captain Hampshire Thomas devised a new cartographic method on the Palestinian front, using overlapping aerial photographs to produce reliable, detailed maps of central Palestine, mapping over 3,000 square kilometers. ### Post-War Applications - Scientific Interpretation and Objectification: After the war, wartime aerial photographs gained new lives, with Thomas publishing on their scientific research potential for geology, botany, and archaeology - German orientalist Gustav Dalman used German aerial photographs for his book "100 Aerial Photographs of Palestine," arguing they offered "reality seen from above" and moved beyond romanticized or biblified representations - Aerial photography became a key instrument for objectifying the landscape, abstracting it into recognizable features for study and conquest, setting the stage for more radical colonial usages. ### The British Mandate - Aerial Power in Counter-Insurgency in the Hills: The British, after occupying Palestine in 1917, began aerial experimentation, notably in Iraq to suppress the 1920 revolt, believing "aircraft could rule the desert" - In Palestine, during the 1936 Arab Revolt, the British developed "combined action" strategies, coordinating ground and air forces to counter elusive guerrilla fighters in the hilly, densely populated central region - This strategy, involving aerial partitioning of Palestine into four aircraft zones for air-ground coordination, proved highly effective and informed British Royal Air Force activity throughout the empire and later in World War II. ### Colonial Legacies - Construction and Destruction in the City: British counter-insurgency left material traces of construction, such as enormous concrete Tegart forts built in main towns as prisons and military bases, many still in use today - Destruction was also a key punitive action, exemplified by the dynamiting of large parts of Jaffa's Old City in May-June 1936 - The British justified Jaffa's destruction by describing its "rabbit warren" layout as a "hotbed of lawlessness" and a potential "citadel for Palestinian rebels," using aerial images to abstract the demolition as a "simple mechanical drawing of a line between two points." ### Conclusion - Territory Shaping Aerial Power: The developments in aerial power and photography were global, but Palestine was a primary site for major innovations driven by crisis and serving imperial interests - Aerial strategies adapted to different warfare types and enemy natures, from clear military targets in WWI to elusive guerrillas in the Arab Revolt - Colonial administrators constantly adjusted strategies to accommodate the land's topography, demonstrating that while aerial power shaped territory, it was also "shaped by it," as the physical nature of deserts, hills, and cities determined technology transferability.