Publication at Faculty of Social Sciences |
2021
Abstract
Geography emerged in nineteenth-century Europe as a scientific discipline situated at the crossroads of the social and natural sciences, forging the bond between idiosyncratic and generic explanations. It is a science whose history is intimately related to the development of the modern state, and for purposes such as this, maps were privileged tools, supporting the formation of nation-states and helping to conceptualize the demographic development of national societies.
Maps helped to define not only the form of their settlement and their geographical limits but also their needs, strengths, and weaknesses.