If you’ve checked Google or Apple Maps recently and managed to scroll to the southern and center coastline of the United States, you might’ve noticed a certain body of water sporting a new name: the “Gulf of America.”
It’s one of those things I never would’ve thought to change. The Gulf of Mexico is a name for a body of water that’s been around since the 16th century, and most people in the world have learned to recognize it by that name.
However, on Feb. 9, President Donald J. Trump signed an executive order (EO) to rename several landmarks throughout the United States, utilizing the U.S. Board on Geographic Names. Within the EO, he specified the change of the Gulf of Mexico to the Gulf of America.
President Trump is far from being the first government official to rename a landmark, as we’ve seen schools, mountains, cities, and other places switch out names for varying reasons. My hometown, Jacksonville, Florida, used to be named Cowford until the military governor of Florida, Andrew Jackson, came into power.
Locations legally claimed by the United States and recognized by other countries as our territory can easily be renamed, which is why we’ve seen so many changes throughout our history. A lot of the more modern switches have been positive, too, eliminating the celebration of individuals who violated human rights.
The difference with President Trump’s executive order ignores Mexico and Cuba’s claims to the waters and resources in the area, established by the United Nations’ designation of Exclusive Economic Zones (EEZs).
If you’re unfamiliar with EEZs, they’re part of international law that states up to 200 nautical miles off a country’s coast may be claimed by their respective country. They then have special rights to the area’s resources, meaning fish, oil, and more. Typically, these zones also cover responsibility for the preservation of the environment.
President Trump’s order to rename the Gulf of Mexico is his administration’s attempt at claiming the body of water and the resources within. This is an imperialistic tactic.
So far, President Trump has not shied away from these methods during his second term. Not only has he used shock and awe by administering dozens of executive orders, but he’s also tried to start conversations about acquiring Greenland and a third presidential term.
The issue that arises is that President Trump is attempting to run the government as a company with acquisitions and mergers; however, in the case of a country, these are violations of tediously crafted and fragile agreements made between governments internationally.
By ignoring treaties and hands shaking, retaliation could be expected. A government’s main goal is to protect the people who’ve given up their liberties in exchange for a law of the land. Governments and people react; when their people are threatened, they will administer consequences.
In the instance of President Trump’s 25 percent tariffs on Mexico and Canada, both countries immediately decided on retaliatory tariffs in addition to other measures intended to protect their workers.
There’s also the issue of mutually assured destruction; once you disrupt the status quo, other power and land-hungry countries are plenty willing to start taking, which may include what the United States has claimed.
These are extreme examples, but President Trump’s decisions are the beginning of several issues related to control. An instance that’s currently affecting the right to a free press is the Associated Press being barred from the Oval Office because of their policy to continue to identify the Gulf as the Gulf of Mexico.
In claiming the Gulf of Mexico as the Gulf of America, President Trump is attempting to control the resources buried in the waters, thereby controlling Mexican and Cuban access to those same resources. As Jack E. Davis, author of The Gulf: The Making of an American Sea, states, “Renaming the Gulf assumes U.S. ownership of it, but in truth, no one owns the Gulf. It belongs to nature.”
By switching up the name, at least within the United States of America, people start to question ownership; however, once we start to question ownership, fights ensue because resources are our greatest assets.
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