Historical Geography Research Articles

Historical geographies of grid city development: Mandalay from Burma to Myanmar

This paper critiques Mandalay city's gridded urban development within historical urban geography, providing a non-Western perspective in an increasingly global field that transcends the Eurocentric paradigm of urban form. The study combines historical and spatial analysis, literature review, and interviews to understand how Mandalay's urban grid embodies the shifting political landscapes. King Mindon's original grid, drawn from Burmese astrology and Buddhism respectively to legitimize his ruling power and reinforce social class division. British rule shifted the grid towards administrative and economic exploitation. Under socialism, adaptations to Mandalay's grid and land redistribution efforts, while seemingly equitable, primarily benefited the elite rather than marginalized squatters. Subsequently, the State Law and Order Restoration Council manipulated the grid for real estate purposes, reflecting monarchical practices. Mandalay's grid serves as a physical expression of power and governance, symbolizing the city's evolving political landscape from Burmese kingship to contemporary Myanmar under a top-down governance system. This research enriches historical geography by revealing the interplay between political history, symbolism, and urban geographic development.

Historical geographies of a Damascan population crisis: Jawlān and Ḥawrān in the late Mamluk - early Ottoman periods

This multidisciplinary study examines the potential causes of a severe and rapid population and settlement decline during the period of transition in the Jawlān and eastern Ḥawrān regions in the province of Damascus. The Jawlān had been part of a relatively small and centralized sultanate in the Mamluk period. However, in the sixteenth century it was incorporated into an empire that ruled over three continents, thus its importance and standing gradually diminished. Newly recovered data from archaeological surveys, two archaeological excavations, fifteenth-century Arabic chroniclers and sixteenth-century Ottoman tax registers (defters) evidence the magnitude of a demographic crisis that occurred in one of the province's most fertile areas at a time when neighboring regions enjoyed continuity, stability and growth. The study conclusions are significant: nomadization in conjunction with an internal, seasonal migration process likely caused the steep decline, and not external migration or sudden demographic decline due to plagues or natural disasters. This shift from sedentary to nomadic or semi-nomadic life lasted for a long time; the vast majority of the area residents were Bedouin, able to adapt quickly to the new reality that combined work in the (mazra'as) with cattle raising.

The historical geography of an idea: Sustainable development in Latin America, 1972–2022

This article traces the genealogy of the idea of sustainable development in Latin America. It links perspectives from historical political ecology and the history of ideas to trace authors, conferences and major works that produced and disseminated socio-ecological knowledge relating to sustainable development in the region. Challenging the pretensions of ‘universality’ of this concept, the article presents the formulations of alternative development created by Latin American theorists that were influenced by the socio-political and socio-economic ideas prevalent in the region prior to the Brundtland report, and which established strong ties to issues of justice and rights. The North-South flow of ideas is palpable, however, there was also a South-North flow that enriched and challenged ideas such as the limits to growth through the Latin American World Model and the concept of ‘ecodevelopment’. This allowed for a Latin American construction of sustainable development that was different from other regions, and which eventually led to new formulations such as post-development, buen vivir and neo-extractivism. The article concludes that there were key moments, themes and contexts that led to a particular emphasis on socio-ecological justice that contrasts with ecological modernisation and environmental responsibility conceptual formulations that emerged more strongly in other regions.

Mediterranean islands in Ptolemy's Geography: Mapping seas through geometrization

The Geography of Claudius Ptolemy is the sole work of ancient geography that presents an easily recognizable and rather realistic depiction of the Mediterranean Sea. The article ultimately aims to explain how Ptolemy achieved such results, given the available sources and methods of his time. It explores how Ptolemy structured the space of the Mediterranean Sea, examining how he positioned the major islands (Sicily, Sardinia, Corsica, Crete, Euboea, Rhodes) and two peninsulas (the Southern Balkans and the Crimea). It is argued that Ptolemy's outlines of the Mediterranean Sea can be accounted for as a result of using three theoretical tools available in his time for map construction: the so-called klimata or reference parallels, the wind rose for determining directions, and the so-called ‘opposite places’ or coastal points presumably situated on the same meridians. The overall outlines of Ptolemy's Mediterranean, and the position of Sicily in particular, are shaped by several latitudes established by earlier geographers. Two regions of Ptolemy's map, in the western and eastern parts of the Mediterranean Sea, are clearly structured based on the 12-point Timosthenes' wind rose, centered at Ostia and Rhodes, respectively. The position of Crete is found to be linked to the African coast by means of the ‘opposite places’ concept. In several cases, the outlines of Ptolemy's map distinctly correspond and can even serve as illustrations to the relevant descriptions found in Strabo's Geography.

Dancing in the archive: Bodily encounters, memory, and more‐than‐representational participatory historical geographies

AbstractThis paper explores the potential of participatory methods and practices to address the methodological difficulties surrounding the historical geographies of dance, and moving bodies, within archival research. Dance has long challenged traditional notions of the ‘archive’. While non‐representational cultural geographers have privileged dance's ability to generate affect and embodied expression, historical geographers have predominantly struggled to engage with moving bodies through traditionally ‘disembodied’ archives. Ephemeral and embodied, dance escapes conventional historical documentation; this methodological challenge demands a more creative, participatory, and more‐than‐representational approach to historical geography and its privileging of the ‘archive’. Focusing on tap dance and its circum‐Atlantic performance, this paper will explore how bodily encounters with and within the archive can lead to new research questions, through contemporary embodied participation in creative practices. By combining participatory approaches with more‐than‐representational historical geographies, it is possible to reconcile the history and politics of dancing bodies with corporeal and affective dimensions of the past. This dual approach demands working with creative communities as a researcher, in the past and the present, to draw out previously marginalised voices. This paper discusses three specific methods: oral histories and records of lived experiences; approaching the ‘body’ as an archive; and fostering public historical geographies, including walking tours, memorials, and festival participation. The paper finally considers how these participatory approaches work to build memory, community, and place‐making through shared heritage.

Visualising and mapping historical networks of international diplomatic training

AbstractWhat might methodological approaches drawing on Geographical Information Systems (GIS) and Social Network Analysis (SNA) offer to sub‐disciplines in geography which have traditionally been dominated by qualitative and often micro‐scale research, such as historical or political geography? How might these approaches—often understood as opposing—be brought together to advance transnational research in particular? This article responds to these questions through a reflection on a recent project on the geopolitics of diplomatic training in the mid‐twentieth century. Building on the established use of biography to focus transnational analyses within a complex abundance of sources, the project complemented such close‐reading with computational methods of distant‐reading, able to analyse large datasets to produce prosopographies and network visualisations that help identify diffuse and larger scale political and geographical relationships. The article concludes with a consideration of how such methods might be effectively integrated in the historical or political geographer's toolkit.

Resource supply and demand model of military settlements in the cold weapon era: case of Zhenbao Town, Ming Great Wall

As an important military defense project in Chinese history, the Ming Dynasty Great Wall and its associated military settlements played a crucial role in maintaining border security. A systematic analysis of how military settlements allocated resources based on external threats and geo-strategic needs is essential to understanding their settlements defense systems. However, this aspect has been relatively under-explored in existing research. Therefore, a resource allocation assessment model for Great Wall military settlements during the Cold Weapon era is established to facilitate a more scientific analysis and quantitative assessment of Military Defense Capabilities(MDC) and Military Requirements(MR). This study employs a combined Analytical Hierarchy Process (AHP) and Principal Component Analysis (PCA) approach to determine the weight of each indicator for both military defense capability and military requirement. Spatial clustering using K-means is conducted to visualize the distribution of these strengths and weaknesses. An Ordinary Least Squares (OLS) regression model links military requirements with defense capabilities, assessing the relationship between settlement locations and historical battle sites. Residual analysis is utilized to identify areas of resource over-allocation or under-allocation. The study reveals that the regional differences in military defense capabilities and requirements within the Zhenbao Town area during the Ming Dynasty correspond closely with the locations of frequent conflicts. This finding suggests that the distribution of defensive capabilities were strengthened in areas with challenging terrain, while the effectiveness and allocation of defense capabilities were determined by logistical support and transportation conditions. This study enhances our understanding of historical military strategies from a historical geography perspective and offers innovative insights for analyzing Great Wall settlement, moving beyond mere sensory intuition and historical experience.

Historical Geographies of Engineering: Knowledges, Practices, Identities

ABSTRACTDrawing on established scholarship in the historical geography of science, the history of technology and science and technology studies, this paper argues for the significance of an historical geography of engineering. Large‐scale and transformative infrastructure projects have been a common focus in historical geography, however comparatively little attention has been paid to the engineers responsible for designing and implementing them. This paper reviews recent work which has foregrounded engineers and their work across diverse times and places. It conceptualises engineering in three ways: as a form of knowledge about the world that is connected to, but distinct from, science; as a set of practices undertaken in specific locations; and as an identity that, since the profession's origin in the 18th century, has enabled individuals to claim expertise in relation to environmental management and therefore exert power over land, territory and people. The article reviews geographical inquiry that foregrounds these perspectives on engineering and suggests future directions for research in the field.

SOCIOONOMASTIC-SOCIOPRAGMATIC ANALYSIS OF THE PLACE-NAME DATABASE OF FRIGYES PESTY IN NÓGRÁD COUNTY

One of the aims of the Hungarian National Toponym Registry Program is to publish the toponyms of Frigyes Pesty’s database. In the programme, I undertook to describe the corpus of the place-name corpus of Nógrád County. In my study, I present a socioonomastic-sociopragmatic analysis of the Nógrád County material of Frigyes Pesty’s place-name database. This database is an extremely valuable collection from the point of view of onomastics, language history, ethnography, local history, historical geography, etc. It contains a corpus of synchronic place names collected in a relatively short period, which has since become a body of names of historical value. While describing the settlements of Nógrád County, I came across numerous entries of villages whose texts are perfectly suitable for socioonomastic-sociopragmatic studies. My research is therefore socioonomastic: I aim to present the linguistic interference phenomena and the characteristics of the name contactology of the Hungarian and Slovak ethnic groups living together in Nógrád county. As a result of the Hungarian–Slovak bilingual environment and the linguistic interaction, contact phenomena appear in the material of geographical names and personal names. In the boundary descriptions of a municipality, Hungarian and Slovak names of areas fluctuate, and names often appear in both languages. In addition to socioonomastic studies, the material of the place-name directory is also suitable for sociopragmatic studies: there are numerous data on the naming, designation, and addressing of women, so I also deal with this topic in the study.

The Victoria County History and participatory historical geography

The Victoria County History and participatory historical geography

Pesty Frigyes Nógrád vármegyei helynévgyűjtésének nyelvjárástörténeti és szociolingvisztikai hasznosításáról

This paper examines the historical dialectological and sociolinguistic use of the Nógrád County place-name compilation collected between 1863 and 1865 at Frigyes Pesty’s initiative. Frigyes Pesty, a pioneer in historical name geography, toponomastics and name etymologies, organised a collection of place names covering all settlements of Hungary. This manuscript of names constitutes a particularly rich database of geographical names of mid-19th-century Hungary. Hungarian National Toponym Registry Programme researchers have started publishing the manuscript based on standardised principles. During the philological work on the press publication of the place names of Nógrád County, a microlinguistic analysis was conducted. The results of this analysis are presented in this paper. On the one hand, the author discusses the connection of the scriptors to the Palóc dialect area and the possibility of reconstructing the former colloquial language use with the help of the registered toponyms. On the other hand, the author explores the bilingualism of the multi-ethnic (mostly Hungarian-Slovakian) villages of Nógrád County, as reflected in the place names.

Predicting genetic biodiversity in salamanders using geographic, climatic, and life history traits.

The geographic distribution of genetic variation within a species reveals information about its evolutionary history, including responses to historical climate change and dispersal ability across various habitat types. We combine genetic data from salamander species with geographic, climatic, and life history data collected from open-source online repositories to develop a machine learning model designed to identify the traits that are most predictive of unrecognized genetic lineages. We find evidence of hidden diversity distributed throughout the clade Caudata that is largely the result of variation in climatic variables. We highlight some of the difficulties in using machine-learning models on open-source data that are often messy and potentially taxonomically and geographically biased.

‘A series of abject failures’: Navigating the pitfalls of place‐based participatory histories

AbstractWhile historical geographers and historians increasingly recognise the benefits of and need for participatory research, the rigid structures regimenting academic practice have acted as barriers to successful knowledge exchange. Community involvement and place‐based research come with a number of challenges characterised by miscommunications, frustrations, and failures. This paper reflects on findings that emerged from a three‐month internship investigating public and community engagement activities at the Centre for History, University of the Highlands and Islands (UHI). The internship was the outcome of a collaboration between UHI and the Centre for the History of People, Place, and Community (CHPPC), Institute of Historical Research London (IHR). Based on interviews with UHI academics and heritage institutions beyond the Higher Education sector based across the Highlands and Islands, the paper explores the inevitable pitfalls that comes with community engagement and the ethical questions raised by knowledge co‐production.

Historical Geography in Brazil: Examining Backgrounds and New Perspectives

ABSTRACTThe sub‐discipline of historical geography in Brazil, in contrast to the Anglophone and Francophone scholarship, often tends to be overlooked by the northern disciplinary history of this sub‐discipline. In Brazil, historical geography studies emerged in the 1980s as a result of personal initiatives. Nonetheless, in the last few years, distinct generations of Brazilian historical geographers have contributed to this sub‐discipline's promotion and recognition, mainly by diversifying their methodological approaches and research interests. Undoubtedly, developing transnational academic networks and collaborations represents a crucial contribution. This review provides an overview of the main Brazilian historical geographers engaged in studying past geographies. It delves into the central themes they address and also examines the academic conferences and research groups responsible for establishing institutional spaces to foster the practice of historical geography in Brazil in recent years. In doing so, the review calls for a ‘polyphonic’ approach to historical geography, urging the inclusion of southern sites of knowledge production and embracing a diverse scholarship beyond the English‐speaking community.

Historical biogeography of North American killifishes (Cyprinodontiformes) recapitulates geographical history in the Gulf of México watershed

Abstract We analysed phylogenetic relationships within a major clade of Cyprinodontiformes (Teleostei) that includes five families of North American killifishes. We used DNA sequences from five genes for 130 species, with four fossil calibrations and three secondary calibrations, to generate a time-calibrated phylogeny. We estimated diversification rates, ancestral areas, and ancestral habitats for each node. Findings were interpreted within a detailed biogeographical synthesis. The results indicate that the clade arose in the Eocene along the Gulf of México coast. The speciation rate was uniform through time, except for acceleration in Cyprinodontidae after ~10.9 Mya. In other families, neither viviparity nor marine-to-freshwater transition was associated with accelerated speciation. Sea-level fluctuations might have created a speciation pump by stimulating cycles of dispersal and vicariance along the coast. Diversification also included many cases of inland immigration from coastal ancestors. For upland lineages, ancient river drainages accord with lineage distributions, including enigmatic disjunctions in Goodeidae and Fundulus. Diversification in uplands occurred via barrier displacement within alluvial or tectonically active landscapes. Killifishes also display high environmental tolerance and persist within harsh, peripheral environments unsuitable for most other fishes. Hence, a combination of clade antiquity, adaptability, dynamic geography, and persistence can explain the living diversity of New World killifishes.

Some Notes on Aeolian Neonteichos and Temnos

According to Herodotus, the Aeolians, who migrated to the coast of Western Anatolia in waves, established 12 cities in the region. Among these, Neonteichos and Temnos played key roles in terms of geostrategic importance, especially during the rule of the Pergamon Kingdom. These settlements later became strongholds during Persian attacks. However, Neonteichos, situated between the cities of Temnos and Larisa, did not have a significant presence in historical events and is therefore rarely mentioned in ancient sources. The fact that the raw material for the coins minted in Neonteichos was copper indicates the city's passive development, as it remained overshadowed by its neighboring cities. Neonteichos was initially founded as a military base to capture Larisa, which hindered its growth into a well-established urban center. In contrast, Temnos gained a well-deserved reputation as a garrison city frequently mentioned in historical geography. Its strategic position overlooking the Hermos River, the absence of powerful nearby cities, and its location on important routes from the coast to the interior positively influenced its economy. Additionally, the city was the center of worship for the cult of Apollo Kynneios, which elevated its status to a level that could rival the city of Gryneion, a key city of the Aeolian League. This article analyzes the developmental trajectories of Neonteichos and Temnos—cities for which there is little comprehensive information in historical sources and which have not been sufficiently studied in modern literature due to the lack of archaeological research—focusing on their socio-cultural, economic, and political dimensions.

"New geographical map of the Northern lands of the Great Kingdom of Moscow" N. Visskher 1720 as a source of the history of northern monasteries

The article examines a map printed in Amsterdam in 1720 by Piscator Jr. It is of considerable interest from the point of view of historical geography for studying the densely populated Russian North with a huge number of towns and villages, temples and monasteries, many of which are now lost. The main topic of the work is the study of rich factual material and the clarification of a number of toponyms, which Dutch masters often wrote down, significantly distorting the Russian names.

UNESCO, mining heritage and the scalar sustainability of tourism geographies at industrial World Heritage Sites

PurposeIndustrial heritage works within a world of contradictions, contentions and scalar liminality. Archaeologists and historians focus upon oral histories and discourses of tangible and intangible memory and heritage while planners and economists see industrial World Heritage, in particular, as a marketing ploy to redevelop deindustrialized spaces. Within this liminality, we explore the potential for geographical perspectives to solder such contradictions into transdisciplinary heritage assessments and tourism contexts. How might the spatial tools of landscape and scalar analyses expose alternative and sustainable futures within broader patterns of industrial heritage management and consumption?Design/methodology/approachUsing three comparative cases, interview and landscape methods and conducting discourse analysis within a spatial and scalar framework, we explore the increasing presence of industrial World Heritage.FindingsWe present both an institutional reflection upon the complexities of heritage discourse across complex spatial configurations and the intersectional historical, cultural, political, environmental and economic geographies that guide and emerge out of World Heritage Designations. Framed scalarly and spatially, we highlight common interpretation, tourism and heritage management styles and concerns found across industrial World Heritage. We point out trans-scalar considerations for future municipalities and regions looking to utilize their industrial landscapes and narratives.Originality/valueWe believe that more theoretical groundings in space and scale may lead to both the flexibility and the applicability needed to assess and, in turn, manage trans-scalar and trans-spatial complex heritage sites. These perspectives may be uniquely poised to assess the complex geographies of industrial, particularly mining, World Heritage Sites.

Contribution of Academician B.A. Akhmedov to the Study of the Historical Geography of Central Asia of the Modern Era (on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Scientist’s Birth)

Contribution of Academician B.A. Akhmedov to the Study of the Historical Geography of Central Asia of the Modern Era (on the Occasion of the 100th Anniversary of the Scientist’s Birth)

Mahogany: a historical geography of a lasting commodity of 18th-century enslavement

ABSTRACT It might be assumed that the commodities produced by enslaved labour in the British colonies in the 18th century were consumed long ago. Mahogany wood, however, endures and challenges this assumption. Slave labour was used to cut mahogany trees and prepare the timber for transporting to European and North American markets. When made into fine furniture and fittings this same mahogany has been admired and preserved through to the present day. We explore how mahogany was part of the geography of colonial trade and wealth-making by drawing on research focused on Lancaster in north-west England, the UK’s fourth largest slave trading port. We trace the extended geographies and lines of connection that were produced by the interlinked trades in enslaved African people and mahogany wood, and, through this focus on Lancaster, we provide an example of how colonialism shaped the economy and narrative of places in Britain. Contemporary responses within heritage settings and the implications for the continuing trade in antique mahogany furniture are also considered.