After President Donald Trump’s decision, Google Maps changed the Gulf of Mexico’s name to the Gulf of America for people using the app in the US.
And here we are again talking about the “Gulf of America.”
In case you haven’t been caught up on the shenanigans, Google Maps has made the change.
Apple Maps has also made the change.
And now, one encyclopedia of note is not backing down. I’m, of course, talking about the Encyclopædia Britannica.
They explained their reason why in a viral thread, saying: “We serve an international audience, a majority of which is outside the U.S. The Gulf of Mexico is an international body of water, and the U.S.’s authority to rename it is ambiguous.”
“It has been called the ‘Gulf of Mexico’ for more than 425 years,” they continued. “But it’s important to note the distinction between international and domestic areas.”
Then they explained what they would be doing about President Trump’s executive order to rename “Mount Denali” back to “Mount McKinley.”
“President Trump has also signed an executive order to change the name of the Alaskan mountain called ‘Denali’ back to its former name, ‘Mount McKinley.'”
“When that change is made official by the U.S. Board on Geographic Names, we will also make that change. Just as we did in 2015 when President Barack Obama changed the name of ‘McKinley’ to ‘Denali.’”
So, there you have it! Four hundred twenty-five years of history and global precedent are kind of a big deal. They’ll also figure out the Mount Denali thing when/if the U.S. Board on Geographic Names renames it.
Anyway, I’m sure this isn’t the last of this!
