Lesson - 1
Paul Vidal de la Blache
BORN
22 January1845, Pezenas, France DIED
Auguste Louis Himly
BORN
28 March 1823, Strasbourg, France
Jacques Élisée Reclus
BORN
28 March 1823, Strasbourg, France
The modern Geographical thought in France had been evolving since the last decade of 19
thcentury, when Geography as a distinct subject and its disciplinary trends gradually advanced, in the contextual of prevalent diverse intellectual concepts proposed by some early and modern European Scholars.
Prevailing scientific concepts like deductive approach, Darwin’s theory of evolution, Newtonian cause and effect relationships, which influenced many contemporary geographers in France. Who laid down the foundation of the modern school in France and established Geography as a separate discipline in early of 20
thcentury.
French school made Geography as a subject integrating humanities and natural science.
This subject becomes more applied and scientific because of some of the following French scholars.
Philippe Buache
BORN 7 February 1700
DIED
Emmanuel de Martonne
BORN 1 April 1873
DIED
André Siegfried
BORN April 21, 1875
DIED
Raoul Blanchard
BORN 4 September 1877
DIED
Jean Brunhes
BORN
25 October 1869, Toulouse, France DIED
25 August 1930, Boulogne-Billancourt
Camille Vallaux
BORN 2 octobre 1870
DIED
10 septembre 1945
Albert Demangeon
BORN 13 June 1872
DIED 25 July 1940
Lucien Louis Joseph Gallois
BORN 21 February 1857
DIED 21 March 1941
Jean Gottmann
BORN
10 October 1915, in Kharkov DIED
Philippe Buache Biography
BORN: At La Neuville-au-Pont, 7 February 1700
SUBJECT: Physical geography
DIED: At Paris, 24 January 1773
He was the first French Scholar who led the movement for the evolution of
“Pure Geography” (Reine Geography )
According to him, “Geography can only be studied through natural regions demarcated on the Earth Surface.”
He expressed that a river basin was the best suited natural regions for Geographical study.
Buache was nominated first geographer of the king in 1729.
In 1754, he published an "Atlas physique." he also wrote several pamphlets.
He was also a pioneer in the use of contour lines to express relief on maps.
Contribution on Geography
Paul Vidal de la Blache Biography
BORN: January 22, 1845 Pezenas, France
B.A: In Geography and History in 1865
STUDIED: Greek archeology (3YR.),
SUBJECT: Human Geography
MARRIED: Laure Marie Elizabeth Mondont (1870), he had five children,
DOCTORATE:
At the Sorbonne (Nansy University) in 1872 with a dissertation in ancient history, his thesis is “La France de I’ Est”.
WORKING AS A PREFACER: At first join a school teacher in Attains, then foreseer in Nancy-
Université, then Université de Paris (up to 1909) in Sorbonne,
FOUNDED:
French school of geography and, together with Marcel Dubois and Lucien Gallois, the Annales de Géographie (1893),
PUBLICATIONS: 17 books, 107 articles, and 240 reports and reviews, his best-known writings
are Tableau de la Géographie de la France (1903) and Principles of Human Geography (1918).
FOUNDER: “Annales de Geographie”
STUDENT AND FOLLOWING GEOGRAPHERS: E. Reclus, Bruhnes, A. Demangeon, E.
Martonne, J. Gottman etc.
DIED: April 5, 1918 (aged 73) Tamaris-sur-Mer, France
Paul Vidal de la Blache Contribution on Geography
Ratzel’s 2
ndvolume of “Anthropogeographie” analyzed human socio- economic activities and culture in relation to the physical environment which later massively influenced French geographers like vidal de la Blache.
Friedrich Ratzel
(August 30, 1844 – August 9, 1904)
Paul Vidal de la Blache
22 January1845 – 15 April 1918
Pays and Paysage (Habitat)
Genre de-Vie or Life style or ways of life
Pollibilism
Three main Contributions
Carl Ritter
August 7, 1779 – September 28, 1859
Individual regional approach (Pays concept):
He explain the “Pays or Paysage” (Homogeneous area or region) concept in his book “ Tableau de la Geographie de la France” in 1903. Also publised in journal “ Annals de Geography”.
His geographical approach was field studies in France, through which he developed a concept of “Pays”.
“Pays” means regional units in rural France which are having unique agricultural patterns due to its specific soil and water supply, economic specialty and people’s demand at surrounding cities. Each “pays” had uniquely settlement pattern , mainly compacts or dispersed settlement.
The uniqueness of “pays” maintained over generations with specific interaction between the man-environment relationship.
Example – Each pays has its own distinctive agriculture due to its highland water supply, and also due to its economic is specialization made possible by the demand of the people living in towns.
Contribution on Geography
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Six Principles of “Annales de Geographie” (1893) (1891)
Recognize the environmenta
l force in its various forms
and types.
Six Principles of
“Annales de Geographie”
(1893) Need for a
scientific method in classifying and defining
phenomena
Unity if Earth Phenomena Recognize the
role of man in modifying his
basic environment.
Variable combination
and modification of phenomena Geography
concerns all phenomena at
the earth’s surface
Annales de Geographie
1893 By
Vidal de la Blache
Genre-de-Vie Approach:
Its mean, how man adjusts and adapt with environment defer distinctive modes of life.
He belief that, there is no reasoning to draw boundaries between natural and cultural phenomena. As they are so closely interlinked, hence united and inseparable.
His student Emm de Martonne, after his death concept “Genre-de-Vie”
related all research paper togather publish by namr “ Principles of Human Geography” in 1921.
He conceived the idea of “Genre de Vie” which is the belief that the lifestyle of a particular region reflects the economic, social, ideological and psychological identities imprinted on the landscape.
Contribution on Geography
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Possibilism:
A possibilism is an approach to the study of man and environment relationship.
According that concept, nature offers opportunities for developing the cultural landscape within the certain limits.
He told that, “ Nature has set boundaries and has provided possibilities for human settlement, but the way a person responds to these conditions or adjusts it depends on the traditional way of life.” also told that – Man was part of nature and therefore, its most active collaborator.
French historian Lucien Febvre, further elaborated the concept of possibilism.
Cultural explanation of possibilism:
Spatial explanation of possibilism :
Temporal or historical explanation of possibilism :
Contribution on Geography
Paul Vidal de la Blache
In Alaska people live with facing extreme cold weather condition.
They have learned to accommodate by igloos and hunting in sea animals
such as seals and whales.
In desert area man leave with high temperature and dust. People are able to overcome this is by using modern day technology, providing
cooling systems and drinking water.
Lucien Febvre
Human Geography:
His most important work was “Principles of Human Geography” which was published by his Son-in-law De Martonne in 1932 (1921) after his death. This book emphasis on “concept of territorial unity”., which mean factors operating on the Earth surface are intricately interlinked.
Establishment of Geography as distinct discipline:
He firs time separately established to Geography from the History in France .
Geography is the individual subject, which explain or review to lithosphere, atmosphere, and Hydrosphere.
Man and Nature is a two main object in geography, which concatenated to social science and environmental science.
To explain the change of physical environment which change by the man in the review of man environmental relationship.
He is the founder of modern French Geography and French School of Geopolitics, and together with Marcel Dubois and Lucien Gallois,
He prepare the Atlas of Geography and History in 1894.
He wrote his book “Annales de Geographie” in 1893, of which he was the editor until his death.
This book promoted the concept of human geography as the study of man and his relationship to his environment.
Contribution on Geography
Paul Vidal de la Blache
Biography
BORN: 28 March 1823, Strasbourg, France.
SCHOOLING: Native town in Strassburg and higher education (University) in Berlin (1842-1843).
SUBJECT: Geography
DOCTORATE: at the Paris in 1849 with a two theses, one of “Wala et Louis le Debonnaire”.
WORKING AS A PREFACER: at first he join as a teacher of Geography in Sorbonne, 1858.
DIED: 6 Octobre 1906, Sèvres, France
Auguste Louis Himly
He was a French historian and geographer.
His famous book with two volumes, “Histoire de la formation territorial des etats de I’Europe centrale” publish in 1876.
In which he showed with a firm touch the reciprocal influence exerted by geography and history.
In 1881 he was appointed dean of the faculty of letters, and for ten years he directed the intellectual life of that great educational
centre during its development into a great scientific body.
Contribution on Geography
Biography
BORN: March 15, 1830, Sainte-Foy-la-Grande, Gironde, France
SCHOOLING: In Rhenish Prussia
STUDIED: higher studies at the Protestant college of Montauban, and University of Berlin.
SUBJECT: Geographer, anarchist revolutionary, and writer
WORKING AS A PREFACER: In 1894, Reclus was appointed chair of comparative geography at the University of Brussels.
PUBLICATIONS: He produced his 19-volume masterwork, La Nouvelle Géographie universelle, la terre et les hommes ("Universal Geography"), over a period of nearly 20 years (1875–1894), “Fragment d'un voyage à Louisiane », published in 1855. During 1867 and 1868, he published La Terre; description des phénomènes de la vie du globe in two volumes.
AWARD: In 1892 he was awarded the Gold Medal of the Paris Geographical Society for his work. And also he was awarded the 1894 Patron's Gold Medal of the Royal Geographical Society.
STUDENT AND FOLLOWING GEOGRAPHERS:
DIED: July 4, 1905 (aged 75), Torhout, Belgium
Jacques Élisée Reclus
Carl Ritter
August 7, 1779 – September 28, 1859
Contribution on Geography Jacques Élisée Reclus
He was involved in writing world regional Geography (popularly known as Noubvelle Geographic Universelle) and “Physical Geography” (LaTerre).
His geographical work, thoroughly researched and unflinchingly scientific, laid out a picture of human-nature interaction that we today would call “bioregionalism”.
Noubvelle Geographic Universelle dealt with a description of geographic features like rivers and mountains in various countries across the continents and their impacts.
In 1882, He initiated the Anti-Marriage Movement.
In 1892 he taught in university of Brussels, and contributed in many journals about science and geography.
He wrote the some research atrial in journal of France, Germane, and Britain in 1892. Concept of his research article is possibilism.
Most significant of his writing on Man and his culture.
He also visited Italy, and Switzerland, where he wrote many articles about geography
Somes articles wrote by Reclus:
Nouvelle Géographie Universelle - Nuova Geografia Universale (1875- 1894 ).
La Terre, description des phénomènes de la vie du globe (1867-1868).
Histoire d'une montagne (1872).
Histoire d'une ruisseau (1876).
L'Homme et la Terre - (postum) in (1905).
Lucien Louis Joseph Gallois
Biography
BORN:21 February 1857, in Metz.
STUDIED: École Normale Supérieure in Paris
SUBJECT: Cartography and history of geography
WORKING AS A PREFACER: From 1898 to 1907 he was a professor of geography at the École Normale Supérieure, and afterwards a professor at the Sorbonne, where he remained until his retirement in 1927.
DIED: 21 March 1941
Stu dent & foll ow er
Paul Vidal de la Blache
22 January1845 –
Lucien Louis Joseph Gallois
Contribution on Geography
He was a French Geographer and a student of Paul Vidal de la Blache
He is a lecturer or professor at the Sorbonne University in 1893.
Gallois made major contributions to the Annales de Geographie.
In 1890 Gallois published a research journal “Les Geographers alle Mands de la Renaissance”.
Gallois made major contributions to the Annales de géographie, a geographical journal that he co- founded with his mentor, Paul Vidal de la Blache.
He involving a major project regional geography of the entire world.
Following the death of Vidal de la Blache in 1918, he assumed directorship of Geographie Universally, a Major project involving regional geography of the entire world.
During the first world war (1914-18) he wrote geographical studies of various regions namely North- east France, Saar region, Middle Egypt and Suez regions.
Gallois had a keen interest in the fields of cartography and history of Geography, as made evident by an influential 1890 study on German Geographers of the Renaissance titled Les Geographes allemands de la Renaissance.
In1890 study on German geographers of the Renaissance titled Les géographes allemands de la Renaissance, publication of his was Régions naturelles et noms de pays: Étude sur la région Parisienne (Natural regions and country names: A study of the Paris region).
Another noted publication of his was Regions Naturelles et noms de pays: Etude sur la region Parisienne (Natural regions and country names: A study of the Paris region.)
