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Файл:Fundamentals of Geography. Study guide
.pdf
Geography as a science. Its emergence, development and links with other sciences
11
(XVII) is devoted to Africa. Nobody can deny the value of this work. It gives an
idea of the countries and peoples known at that time. In particular, books VII, XI,
XIV described the Crimea and the surrounding areas in detail (Tauric Chersonese,
Cimmerian Peninsula, Euxine Pontus, Meotida), Tanais in the east was mentioned
there. In Asia such countries as India, Persia, Assyria, Babylonia, Armenia, Mesopotamia, Phoenicia with Palestine, Arabia, Syria were described in detail, the
Chinese (sers) were thought as the peoples of India. The inhabited lands extended
from Iberia in the west to India in the east (Strabo, 1964). In such regional descriptions Strabo saw the applied value of geography and its benefits for the rulers of
the state, the military men and merchants. Therefore, he is considered to be the
main ideologist of descriptive and country study geography.
Claudius Ptolemy (about 90–168 AD) wrote "Guide to Geography", which
consisted of 8 books. He distinguished geography (a linear image of the entire part
of the Earth that is now known to us with everything that is on it) from horography
(a detailed description of the localities) (Zubarev, 1998). He is the author of "Al-
magest", a geocentric model of the Universe. He is considered as "father" of cartography; he proposed 2 new cartographic projections of Earth. The treatise
"Guide to Geography" remained unclaimed for about 1150 years. It was discovered and rediscovered around 1300 AD. Ptolemy's map consisted of a summary
map of the entire world known at that time and 26 more detailed maps: 10 regional
maps of Europe, 4 maps of Africa, 12 maps of Asia (K. Ptolemy, 2007). Ptolemy's
works were so authoritative that even a century after the discoveries of Columbus
and Magellan, who had contradicted the basic provisions of Ptolemy's geography,
Ptolemaic-style maps were still being published. Some of Ptolemy's misconceptions were persistently repeated on maps of the XVII and XVIII-th centuries; as
for inner Africa, his map was still the only one at the beginning of the XIX century
(Bronshten, 1988). Thanks to Ptolemy's map Christopher Columbus was sure that
in order to get to India, he had to sail westward.
The next stage of development is medieval geography (V century–mid
XV century). During the period of time when the church dominated, the Bible
replaced the works of ancient scientists. The collapse of the Roman Empire weakened Europe's land trade ties with the East. The poor shipbuilding, the religious
isolation of the countries of Western Europe, superstitions and legends about sea
monsters prevented people from having long journeys. The main incentive for
learning about distant countries was Christian pilgrimage to "sacred places" and
missionary work, as well as crusades (Arsenyev, 2014; Milkov, 1990).
Topic 1
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In the early Middle Ages, the most skilled navigators were Irish monks
(VI–VIII centuries) and Scandinavian Vikings (VIII–X centuries).
Feudal Europe was isolated from India, China and even Africa. Only Byzantium in the V–VI-th centuries had trade ties with the East. Since the seventh century, the Arabs, who had created a huge state, played a great role in the development of the global culture. They traded with China, North and East Africa, and knew
about Madagascar. Linguistic community, trade connections in the Arab Caliphate
and pilgrimage to Mecca (hajji) contributed to the dissemination of geographical
knowledge (Bobkov, 2012). Yet in the VIII-th century. geography was considered
as "the science of postal communication" and "the science of roads and areas".
The era of great geographical discoveries (from the end of the XV-th century–XVII-th century). The history of the XV-th century is characterized by the
emergence of the commercial and industrial bourgeoisie and foundation of large
centralized states. The development of commodity-money relations resulted in
a great interest in gold, which continuously flowed from Europe to the East and
was used by people to buy spices and silk. People traded thanks to intermediaries,
the Arabs. However, with the strengthening of the Ottoman Empire, these trade
routes were abandoned, which made people to look for new ways to the country
with spices. It was India (Milkov, 1990; Bobkov, 2012).
The Spaniards made an attempt to reach India using "their own way" at the end
of the XV century. This was the first voyage of Christopher Columbus (1492), when
he discovered the islands of the Caribbean Sea (Bahamas, Cuba, Hispaniola) and
mistakenly called them the West Indies. The voyage of Columbus is considered to
be the beginning of the era (historical period) (Arsenyev, 2014, fig. 6).
Fig. 6. Christopher Columbus (1451, Genoa – 1506),
the famous navigator who made an official discovery of America
(photo from open internet resources)
Geography as a science. Its emergence, development and links with other sciences
13
During the third (1498) and the fourth (1502–1504) voyages, Columbus discovered the northern coast of South America from Trinidad (an island) and the
mouth of the Orinoco River to the Gulf of Darien. Thus, Columbus made his first
voyage from Europe across the Atlantic Ocean towards the Southern Hemisphere
to the shores of Central America. He discovered the Sargasso and Caribbean Seas,
the Bahamas, the Greater Antilles and the Lesser Antilles, part of the coast of
South and Central America. He founded the first colony in New World in Haiti
and the city of San Domingo.
The sea route to India was found by the Portuguese when Vasco da Gama
rounded the Cape of Good Hope and in 1498 reached the desired goal (Fig. 7).
Fig. 7. The route of Vasco da Gama’s expedition (1497–99)
(according to Arsenyev, 2014)
The Portuguese were the only traders of spices at that time.
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A Spanish squadron of 5 ships under the command of Fernand Magellan was
sent to India in 1519 to search for new routes (Fig. 8).
Fig. 8. Fernand Magellan. (1480, Portugal – 1521, the Philippines)
(photo from open sources)
Magellan F. was a Portuguese navigator, whose expedition made the first circumnavigation of the world; a discoverer of part of the Atlantic coast of South
America, the passage from the Atlantic to the Pacific Ocean, crossed by him for
the first time. Magellan proved that the single World Ocean existed and presented
practical evidence of the Earth's spherical shape. Through the Strait, which now
bears his name, he rounded South America and went to the Pacific Ocean. After
a four-month- voyage, Magellan reached the Philippines Islands, where he died as
a result of fighting with local residents. The first circumnavigation of the world
was completed in 1522.
The epoch of Great Geographical Discoveries was the beginning of the theoretical thought development in all sciences, especially natural sciences. New information about the planet was systematized and theoretically explained. We also
need to mention several more researchers who made a significant contribution to
the development of geographical science at that stage (Milkov, 1990).
Geography as a science. Its emergence, development and links with other sciences
15
Nicolaus Copernicus (1473–1543) made the heliocentric system of the struc-
ture of the Universe public.
D. Bruno (1548–1600) expressed the idea of the infinity of the Universe and
the multiplicity of worlds.
Francis Drake made the second circumnavigation of the world after Magellan
(1577–1580).
Gerhard Mercator (1512–1594) proposed a new projection (the first cylindrical equiangular projection of the world map) and created a map that was convenient for navigation, and compiled an Atlas.
In 1606 Luis Vaez de Torres discovered the southern coast of New Guinea.
In 1642–1643 Abel Tasman went around Australia from the south and discovered Tasmania and New Zealand.
Bernhard Varenius (1622–1650) published "Universal geography" in 1650,
introduced the concept of "amphibious circle", which was formed by parts interpenetrating each other – earth, water, atmosphere. It can be called the starting point
of Earth Science as an independent science.
In Russia, Ivan Moskvitin in 1639 and Vasily Poyarkov in 1645 crossed Siberia and went to the shores of the Pacific Ocean. Fedot Popov and Semyon
Dezhnev rounded Chukotka in 1648 and discovered the strait separating Eurasia
and America.
The currents (the Gulf Stream), calm and monsoon zones were found in the
oceans.
Geography of Modern times (XVII–XIX centuries).
At that stage, factual material was gathered, geographical knowledge was summarized, sciences were intensively developed, scientific schools were established,
and scientific methods of cognition were applied.
Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov was the first Russian outstanding scientist,
a professional researcher of nature: a physicist, chemist, geographer, metallurgist,
mathematician and astronomer, founder of Moscow State University (1755). In
his work "On the Layers of the Earth" (1763), he outlined the regularities of the
formation of the relief of Earth, explored the Solar System, discovered the atmosphere on Venus, studied electrical and optical effects in the Earth's atmosphere; he
was the author of the project of the development of the Russian North (Barsov,
2013) (Fig. 9).
Topic 1
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Fig. 9. Mikhail Vasilyevich Lomonosov (1711–1765)
(photo from open sources)
Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was a researcher of the nature of Central and South America, the founder of comparative physical geography, the doctrine of landscape (Fig. 10). Thanks to Humboldt's research, the scientific foundations of geomagnetism were laid. He paid much attention to the study of climate, developed the method of isotherms, made a map of their distribution and
actually gave a justification for climatology as a science. He described the continental and coastal climate in detail, established the nature of their differences.
Fig 10. Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859).
A German naturalist, traveler, researcher of South American nature
(photo from open sources)
Geography as a science. Its emergence, development and links with other sciences
17
He published the work "Cosmos". He revealed the importance of the analysis
of interrelations as a leading part of the entire geographical science. He laid the
foundations of plant geography, explained what bioclimatic latitudinal and altitudinal zonation were. He introduced the term "life sphere" – an analogue of the
modern "biosphere" (Bobkov, 2012).
Karl Ritter (1779–1859), a German geographer, was one of the founders of
modern geographical science and the author of the fundamental work "Earth sci-
ence in relation to nature and the history of mankind". He paid a lot of attention
to studying the geography of Russia and Iran. He introduced the term "Earth science". (Milkov, 1990; Semenov Tyan-Shansky, 2014).
In 1820 Antarctica was discovered by Russian navigators Thaddeus Belingshausen and Mikhail Lazarev using Vostok and Mirny ships during the First Russian Antarctic Expedition.
On August 6th (18th), 1845 the Russian Geographical Society was established
according to the supreme command of Nicholas I in St. Petersburg to "study the
native land and the people living there". It is one of the oldest in the world.
Modern geography and the geography of modern times (XIX–XX centu-
ries). Geography was split into separate scientific disciplines, and a componentby-component study of the surrounding world began. Science in Russia was being
developed intensively, the work of scientists who combined expeditionary research and generalization of the results obtained played an important role during
that period.
Vasily Vasilyevich Dokuchaev (1846–1903) was a Russian geologist and soil
scientist, the founder of soil science. Exploring the patterns of soil formation, he
spoke about the law of world’s geographical zonality. He considered zonality as
a universal law of nature, which could be applied to all components of nature. In
1883, the essay "Russian Chernozem" was published, in which the area of distribution, the method of origin, the chemical composition of chernozem (black soil),
the principles of classification and methods of studying this soil were considered
in detail. The definition of soil as a special natural mineral-organic formation was
proposed there (Dokuchaev, 1885).
Alexander Ivanovich Voeykov (1842–1916) was the founder of climatology,
he wrote book "Climates of the globe, especially Russia" (1884). He believed that
the environment affected the physical and psychological health of a person. He
Topic 1
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explained that Kislovodsk, Krasnaya Polyana and Borjomi could be considered as
resort cities.
Vladimir Ivanovich Vernadsky (1863–1945) was a natural scientist, thinker
and public figure. He is the founder of scientific schools and biogeochemistry, the
doctrine of the biosphere and the noosphere (Vernadsky, 1926).
Pyotr Petrovich Semenov-Tyan-Shansky (1827–1914) was a Russian geographer, botanist, traveler, economist, statesman and public figure. He explored
the Tien Shan Mountains, Central Asia, and made economic zoning of Russia
(Sokolov, 2016).
At that stage new approaches of geographical science were developed, technologies and methods appeared in the study of Earth. People started to explore
space; aerial and satellite photography of Earth appeared, geographical information systems (GIS) were developed, there was an active exploration of the
ocean depths with the help of scuba gear and deep-sea habitable vehicles. The
issues of human-nature interaction were studied, and the environmental sciences
including the science of ecology emerged. Geography evolved and turned from
a descriptive science into the science that could explain the regularities of the
world.
The main goals of modern geography are the following:
– to study sustainable development of society and nature (geographical forecasting);
– to solve global (environmental) issues;
– to plan rational nature management;
– to study the issues of society organization, rational manufacturing location;
– to explore territories and to establish environmental monitoring;
– to use project (forecast) geography including assessment of natural condi-
tions for specific applied needs;
– to study global geographical processes and their consequences on a global scale.
Progress check test
1. The geographical shell of the Earth includes
a. hydrosphere, atmosphere,
lithosphere, biosphere
c. living matter
b. the surface of the Earth with
living organisms
d. the surface of the Earth with
inanimate nature
Geography as a science. Its emergence, development and links with other sciences
19
2. The expedition led by which Portuguese navigator, who opened a new way
to India having rounded Africa?
a. M. Polo
c. V. da Gama
b. F. Magellan
d. Columbus
3. He was the first to calculate the length of the equator and the radius of Earth
rather accurately, coined the word "geography", and created the first map of the
inhabited land
a. Ptolemy
c. Eratosthenes
b. Aristotle
d. Herodotus
4. Which geographical object is named after F. Magellan?
a. an island
c. a strait
b. a state
d. a gulf
Project tasks
1. Make a report and speak about one of the scientists who made a significant
contribution to the development of geography in your country.
2. Report on the stages of development of geography. What tasks did geography have during different periods?
3. Describe the law of geographical zonality. When and whom was it introduced by?
4. Explain the links between geography and other sciences within the cycle of
Earth sciences.
20
T O PI C 2
Ea r th i n t h e Un i ver s e
The universe is almost unexplored space, and we occupy a very small part of
it. Known as the Solar System, our home is not only a tiny part of the universe as
we know it, but also a very small part of our Galaxy (the Milky Way). From this
point of view, our world is just a “drop” in the endless cosmic sea.
Nevertheless, the Solar System is still very large space, and it is filled with a great
number of secrets. And, to tell you the truth, it was only in the relatively recent
past we began to understand its true dimension. And when it comes to studying it,
we are really just beginning to “touch the surface”.
With a few exceptions, not many people or civilizations, who had existed before the era of modern astronomy, recognized the Solar System as what it was.
The vast majority of astronomical schools claimed that the Earth was a stationary
object and that all known celestial objects revolved around it. In addition, they
viewed Earth as a fundamentally different cosmic object from others, which they
considered to be ethereal or divine by nature.
Discovery of the Solar System
Although some Greek, Arab and Asian astronomers in antiquity and the Middle Ages believed that the universe was heliocentric by nature (Earth and other
celestial bodies revolve around the Sun), it was only with the development of
a model of the heliocentric system, which was mathematically justified by Nicolaus Copernicus in the 16th century, the heliocentric system became popular.
Further, during the 17th century, scientists Galileo Galilei, Johannes Kepler,
Isaac Newton, made a number of discoveries in physics that made people completely understood that our system was heliocentric. The substantiation of the
theory of gravity (the Law of Universal Gravitation) served to realize that other
celestial bodies (planets) obeyed the same laws of physics as Earth.
The wide use of a telescope also became a breakthrough in astronomy. After
Galileo discovered Jupiter's moons in 1610, Christian Huygens found out that Saturn had also moons in 1655. He was sure, that new planets (such as Uranus and
Neptune) would be discovered, as well as comets (such as Halley's Comet) and
the Asteroid Belt.
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