The Far East
In the Orient the principal explorers mentioned in the article Geography and treated each in a separate article are: the Englishmen, Sir James Lancaster, Thomas Coryate, Sir Anthony Shirley, Sir Thomas Herbert and Sir Thomas Roe; the German Engelbrecht Kaempfer; and, among many great Dutch navigators, Abel Janszoon Tasman. On this period see also India (especially pp. 404–406, Vol. 14); Japan, Foreign Intercourse (p. 224, et seqq., Vol. 15); Francisco de Xavier; Malay Archipelago (p. 469, Vol. 17); Tasmania; New Guinea, etc.
Missionaries
The geographical work of missionaries has been remarkable—perhaps none of it more so than the survey of China by Jesuit missionaries. “They first prepared a map of the country round Peking, which was submitted to the emperor Kang-hi, and, being satisfied with the accuracy of the European method of surveying, he resolved to have a survey made of the whole empire on the same principles. This great work was begun in July, 1708, and the completed maps were presented to the emperor in 1718. The records preserved in each city were examined, topographical information was diligently collected, and the Jesuit fathers checked their triangulation by meridian altitudes of the sun and pole star and by a system of remeasurements. The result was a more accurate map of China than existed, at that time, of any country in Europe.”
There was some 18th century exploration of importance in Arabia: see the article Karsten Niebuhr; in Africa: see the articles James Bruce; John Ledyard, an American; and Mungo Park; and in South America: see C. M. de la Condamine, Pierre Bouguer, etc. But the Pacific was the great field of exploration in this century and “the three voyages of Captain James Cook form an era in the history of geographical discovery.” See the articles James Cook, Comte de La Perouse, Joseph-Antoine Bruni d’Entrecasteux, William Bligh, George Vancouver, and local articles like Hawaii, Tahiti, etc.
Arctic Exploration
The story of Polar exploration is told in brief in the article Geography (p. 629) but there are more detailed accounts in the article Polar Regions, by H. R. Mill and Fridtjof Nansen, the polar explorer, which is illustrated with maps of the North Polar and South Polar regions. This should be further supplemented by the following biographical sketches: Pytheas, Cabot, Corte-Real, Willoughby, Steven Borough, Frobisher, John Davis, Barents, Hudson, Baffin, Scoresby, Bering, James Cook, John Franklin, Sir W. E. Parry, Sir John Ross, John Rae, Sir R. J. L. M. McClure, Sir F. L. McClintock, Sir E. A. Inglefield, E. K. Kane, Charles Hall, Nordenskiöld, Nares; Sir C. R. Markham, DeLong, A. W. Greely, Nansen, Peary, etc., and on antarctic exploration the articles Dumont D’Urville, Charles Wilkes, Sir James C. Ross, etc. The article Polar Regions includes an elaborate account of the physiography of the Arctic region (p. 954, Vol. 21) and of the Antarctic (p. 969 of same Vol.), dealing with geology, climate, pressure, flora, fauna, people, ocean depths, temperature and salinity, and marine biological conditions, etc.
Maps
The student of geography should read with great care the article Map (Vol. 17, p. 629), equivalent to 110 pages of this Guide, written by Lieut. Col. Charles Frederick Close, author of Text-Book of Topographical Surveying, Alexander Ross Clark, lately in charge of the trigonometrical operations of the British Ordnance Survey, and Dr. Ernest George Ravenstein, author of A Systematic Atlas, etc. The article has 59 illustrations and it deals with: classification, scale, delineation of ground, contours, selection of names and orthography; measurement on maps; relief maps; globe; map printing; history of cartography (equivalent to 55 pages of this Guide), with reproductions of many early maps; topographical surveys, summarizing the work done in different parts of the world; and map projections.
The maps in the Britannica are of the utmost value. They include nearly 150 full-page maps, many of them in colours, all prepared especially for this edition, and in accordance with the principles laid down in the article Map.