Map of Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan

The map of Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, Glubbdubdrib, and Japan is a satirical illustration that accompanies the third part of “Gulliver’s Travels,” published anonymously in 1726 in London by printer Benjamin Motte, in the style of contemporary cartographers like Herman Moll. It partially traces the real geography of East Asia, with a recognizable Japan alongside distorted coastlines of Korea and a fantastical Siberia, yet immersed in a sea of “Parts Unknown,” still beyond European knowledge. The imaginary islands marked – Laputa, Balnibarbi, Luggnagg, and Glubbdubdrib – transform the technical language of cartography into a narrative device: routes, ports, and placenames create the illusion of an authentic atlas, while actually supporting Swift's fierce critique of abstract science, politics, and the fashion for exotic travel accounts.

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