Philippines菲律宾

Curatorial Note

The Philippine national atlas tradition, as represented in this gallery, is a modest but significant chapter in the country's cartographic history. The sole entry—a single edition of *The Philippine Economic Atlas* published in 1965 by the Philippines Research Center—marks a moment when the newly independent nation sought to consolidate its economic geography into a single authoritative reference. This atlas emerged during a period of post-war nation-building, when statistical and spatial data were increasingly seen as tools for development planning. The work's editorial approach is notable for its focus on economic themes—resources, industries, trade routes—rather than purely physical or political geography, reflecting a pragmatic, data-driven vision of national identity. The atlas's bilingual English format indicates its intended audience: both domestic policymakers and international investors. While the collection holds only two copies of the same volume, their presence underscores the atlas's role as a foundational reference, cited in later academic and governmental studies. Its legacy lies not in a long lineage of successive editions, but in establishing a precedent for thematic national cartography in the Philippines, influencing subsequent efforts to map the nation's economic potential.