In what ways were

1. The maps prepared by the British were in sharp contrast to the maps prepared by Greek and Arab cartographers such as Ptolemy and Idrisi.

2. Although, these cartographers were successful in making some of the earliest maps of the world, giving correct information of Europe and nearby places visited by sailors and traders, they were not able to give much information about the interiors of places. For example – map prepared by Al-Idrisi showed only northern parts of Africa and lacked details about Southern Africa and Southeast Asia.

3. However, the maps prepared by the British gave detailed maps of the interiors of the country. They also established a department called Survey of India.

4. One of the most important geographical surveys was carried out in 1802 by William Lambton, starting from Chennai (south) to the Himalayas (north) in order to determine the length of a longitude and also the heights of various places.