La pensée géographique en France au XIXe siècle : continuité ou rupture ?

Some aspects of the french geographical thought during the 19th century. — The status and evolution of geography in France during the first half of the 19th century cannot be compared to its briliant burst of the 18th. Then it is not considered as a science but as an utilitarian knowledge : this is the reason why it does not appear in Ampere's or Comte's classifications. Many geographers, such as Balbi or Daunou, intend to protect the so said pure geography, from intercourses with geology or statistics when Cortambert attempts to associate it with the other sciences related to nature observation. Levasseur considers geography as a science of chain interrelations ; but it turns to an encyclopedic quest dominated by the determinist hypothesis which appears in Schrader and Dubois. Another disputed problem was related to the geographical divisions — natural or political — as they were discussed by Malte-Brun and Balbi. Regions were defined as hydrographie catchment areas when Elie de Beaumont stressed the importance of geological features. After 1870 the expressions of natural region and pays were favoured by Drapeyron, Berlioux, Levasseur and Auerbach and magnified by Lapparent — the main source and master of Vidal de La Blache — in spite of Dubois's opposition.Some aspects of the french geographical thought during the 19th century. — The status and evolution of geography in France during the first half of the 19th century cannot be compared to its briliant burst of the 18th. Then it is not considered as a science but as an utilitarian knowledge : this is the reason why it does not appear in Ampere's or Comte's classifications. Many geographers, such as Balbi or Daunou, intend to protect the so said pure geography, from intercourses with geology or statistics when Cortambert attempts to associate it with the other sciences related to nature observation. Levasseur considers geography as a science of chain interrelations ; but it turns to an encyclopedic quest dominated by the determinist hypothesis which appears in Schrader and Dubois. Another disputed problem was related to the geographical divisions — natural or political — as they were discussed by Malte-Brun and Balbi. Regions were defined as hydrographie catchment areas when Elie de Beaumont stressed the importance of geological features. After 1870 the expressions of natural region and pays were favoured by Drapeyron, Berlioux, Levasseur and Auerbach and magnified by Lapparent — the main source and master of Vidal de La Blache — in spite of Dubois's opposition.Broc Numa. La pensée géographique en France au XIXe siècle : continuité ou rupture ?. In: Revue géographique des Pyrénées et du Sud-Ouest, tome 47, fascicule 3, 1976. pp. 225-247