Emergence of Geographical Science in 19th Century: Flashcards
1
Q
Why study the histories of geography?
A
- Livingstone (1992) - ‘the history of geography is the history of a contested tradition’
- theory is understood as
+ ‘patterns or ideas’
+ ‘more or less organised ways of ordering the world’ …
+ ‘set of interlinked propositions about how things in the world are connected’ - geographical theories and concepts have changed, evolved and transformed over time.
2
Q
Learned societies:
A
- one way in which the emergence of geography came into existence is through the establishment of learned societies in the early 19th century.
- ‘they act as places of exchange and debate where information can be analysed and synthesised’ (Driver 2001).
3
Q
Examples of learned societies:
A
- 1821: Societe de Geographie de Paris (Paris - SGP).
- 1828: Berlin Geographical Society (GEB)
- 1830: Royal Geographical Society (London - RGS)
4
Q
Age of Exploration:
A
- begins in the late 15th century:
+ 1492-1504: Columbus attempts to find a western route to India.
+ 1498 - Vasco de Gama reaches India via the Cape of Good Hope.
+ 1521: Magellan circumnavigates the globe. - whether the Atlantic was navigable were questions that could not be solved through rereading Aristotle but instead through honest-to-goodness experience.
- ‘the fact that geography has always been a practical science is thus of central significance in its history (Livingstone 1992)
5
Q
The task of a geographer in 17th century:
A
- ‘engage actively in the endless loop of feedback and correction’ (Brook 2009).
- information would be brought back by merchants which would be collected, analysed and synthesised into sea charts/maps.
- the merchants would then use this useful info/knowledge to go back into the wider world that is now better understood.
- if this fails, new knowledge will be collected/incorporated.
6
Q
Geography, Exploration and Enlightenment:
A
- 1734: French Academicians, including Pierre Bouguer and Charles-Marie de La Condamine led a scientific mission to South America.
- their aim was to determine the shape of the earth.
- Academicians included physicists, cartographers, soldiers, scientists and geographers.
7
Q
What did they do?
A
- mapped the western coast pf Peru, Quito and other places
- discovered rubber, platinum and quinine
- documented corruption in the Viceroyalty
- collected fauna and flora
- they conducted experiments on the speed of sound, magnetism and gravity
- proved the shape of the earth was oblate (Crane 2021).
8
Q
Exploration and Empire - 18th Century:
A
- European exploration of the globe accelerated in pace and scope.
- e.g., Captain James Cook.
- scientific expedition, gathering detailed info on landscapes, weather, fauna and flora, etc.
9
Q
3 voyages - exploration and empire (18th Century):
A
- South Pacific, HMS Endeavour, 1768-1771
- Australia 1772-1775
North America, 1776-1780
10
Q
Exploration and Empire in the 19th Century:
A
- emergence of Geography as a subject is inseparable from the rise of the European Imperialism in the 19th Century.
- ‘the overseas adventure of expansionist Britain in 19th century was orchestrated through the agency of the RGS’ ‘Geography was the science of imperialism par excellence’.
- geography both enabled empire and benefitted from it - gaining prestige and authority as a (scientific) subject.
11
Q
How did modern western geography arise during this period?
A
- the need to catalogue and interpret the mass of geographical information collected.
- the use of rational, scientific forms of thinking and expression to organise this data.
(Richard Peet 1998)
12
Q
Who were two of the most influential and pioneering geographers?
A
- both ‘naturalists’
- Alexander von Humboldt
- Charles Darwin
13
Q
Who was von Humboldt?
A
- traveller and scientific explorer (South America - 1799-1804).
- extensive collector and field observer, meteorology, hydrology, geology, etc.
14
Q
Who was Charles Darwin?
A
- Best remembered for Origin of Species (1859) and ‘theory of evolution’, his work was crucial for the growth of modern geographical science.
- supported and recognised by RGS.
- Darwin makes scientific observations; returns with 1,500 species
- Evolution and adaptation offered a whole new way of thinking about how people and environments interact. Move away from creationism and theological explanations.
15
Q
Geography as a university subject:
A
- evolution and advances in time and change in the environment helped to establish a recognisable modern scientific type of geography.
- 19th century: when sciences as we know them today, incl geography were first defined and differentiated.
- by the end of the 19th century - professors of geography at universities and geography programmes at school. E.g. Carl Ritter at University of Berlin.
- Cresswell: ‘it was in Germany, or Prussia, that geography flourished in the early 19th century’. Due to Humboldt and Ritter.
