THE ROLE OF MAPPING IN THE COLONISATION OF AFRICA: 1880-1914

摘要

Before 1880 there had been few attempts at systematic mapping in Africa. Even settler colonies in southern Africa were poorly mapped by European standards. The mapping which had been produced elsewhere was generally at small scale using methods more familiar to navigators than to land surveyors. To try to overcome the lack of training in Britain initially the Royal Geographical Society (RGS) had started to publish Hints to Travellers which contained some instruction in surveying and, in 1879, the RGS decided to start its own courses in practical surveying. Following the 'Scramble for Africa' the new political boundaries between European colonies needed to be mapped and a start made on providing the maps necessary to administer the new acquired territories. Drawing on reports to the Colonial Survey Committee and the minutes and correspondence files of the Royal Geographical Society, this paper discusses the debates around the types of maps needed for the new colonies and the most appropriate training to be given to the surveyors. It shows how the former surveyors of the Survey of India, led by Sir Thomas Hungerford Holdich, played a decisive role in British thinking.