Confusingly, early Chinese maps seem to buck this trend. But, Brotton, says, even though they did have compasses at the time, that isn’t the reason that they placed north at the top.

The map, which can be accessed by clicking the link towards the end of the article, lets users hover over a particular area before a pop-up box explains their North East link.

The map, which can be accessed by clicking the link towards the end of the article, lets users hover over a particular area before a pop-up box explains their North East link.