De Brahm's Report of the General Survey in the Southern District of North America

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American Geographical Society De Brahm's Report of the General Survey in the Southern District of North America by Louis de Vorsey, Review by: Carville V. Earle Geographical Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (Apr., 1973), pp. 285-286 Published by: American Geographical Society Stable URL: http://www.jstor.org/stable/213420 . Accessed: 09/05/2014 10:05 Your use of the JSTOR archive indicates your acceptance of the Terms & Conditions of Use, available at . http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp . JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact [email protected]. . American Geographical Society is collaborating with JSTOR to digitize, preserve and extend access to Geographical Review. http://www.jstor.org This content downloaded from 194.29.185.62 on Fri, 9 May 2014 10:05:16 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/action/showPublisher?publisherCode=ags http://www.jstor.org/stable/213420?origin=JSTOR-pdf http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEWS tained support of critical masses of productive people by means of selective in- centives; to facilitate contacts and communications with scientists and scholars in other nations; to establish selected "centers of excellence"; to improve the op- eration of the labor market; to reduce the loss of sponsored students receiving their training in other lands; and to encourage the return of highly skilled emigres.-WILBUR ZELINSKY DE BRAHM'S REPORT OF THE GENERAL SURVEY IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTH AMERICA. Edited and with an Introduction by Louis DE VORSEY, JR. xvi and 325 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. The University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C., 1971. $12.95. 0o/4 x 7 inches. Historical manuscripts are traditionally edited by historians with the expertise to determine authenticity and reliability as well as to render past events and ideas intelligible; rarely do geographers undertake such research. Thus Louis De Vorsey's venture into the editorial mysteries tests his mettle, since historians will glance skeptically at this bold interloper and his exciting prize. De Vorsey's sub- ject is an intelligent, vain, and controversial eighteenth-century botanist, al- chemist, surveyor, cartographer, engineer, and sometime mystic named William Gerard De Brahm, whose austerely titled "Report of the General Survey in the Southern District of North America" may be as enigmatic as its author. Based on De Brahm's experience in South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida between 1751 and 1771, the "Report" is a mixture of first-rate geographical description, speculative theories, prescriptive human adjustments to environment, and per- sonal exploits, vaingloriously obtrusive. The reader who is tolerant of De Brahm's digressions can receive a good, and at times excellent, introduction to this region. The volume is in two parts. The editor's biographical essay, which comprises more than a fifth of the book and three-fifths of the footnotes, is followed by the text, maps, and charts of De Brahm's "Report." Although fragments of the "Re- port" have previously appeared in print, this publication marks the first oc- casion the entire manuscript (except for several pages of mathematical com- putations) has been assembled and made accessible. The "Report" consists of three sections, each of which describes a colony via topics such as boundaries, history, Indians, towns, fortifications, hydrography, soils, and climate. De Brahm avoids encyclopedic regional description by using a theme of environmental variations and potentialities and of human adjustments incumbent on prospec- tive settlers. His assessment of East Florida should delight all geographers who are curious about soil improvement, about house construction and climate, or about diet, clothing, and regimen suitable to the subtropics. A comparative vignette on viticulture in Europe and North America and on its potential in East Florida is included. Sadly, these contributions are often diluted by lengthy digressions into De Brahm's bizarre theories or his personal exploits. In the biographical essay De Vorsey constructs a plausible interpretation of De Brahm as a brilliant, eclectic scientist whose cartographic and reportorial skills have been acknowledged by specialists. He gently dismisses the controversies and accusations that pocked De Brahm's career as personal conflicts among will- ful men. However, one of these charges, if substantiated, could cast doubt on the tained support of critical masses of productive people by means of selective in- centives; to facilitate contacts and communications with scientists and scholars in other nations; to establish selected "centers of excellence"; to improve the op- eration of the labor market; to reduce the loss of sponsored students receiving their training in other lands; and to encourage the return of highly skilled emigres.-WILBUR ZELINSKY DE BRAHM'S REPORT OF THE GENERAL SURVEY IN THE SOUTHERN DISTRICT OF NORTH AMERICA. Edited and with an Introduction by Louis DE VORSEY, JR. xvi and 325 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. The University of South Carolina Press, Columbia, S.C., 1971. $12.95. 0o/4 x 7 inches. Historical manuscripts are traditionally edited by historians with the expertise to determine authenticity and reliability as well as to render past events and ideas intelligible; rarely do geographers undertake such research. Thus Louis De Vorsey's venture into the editorial mysteries tests his mettle, since historians will glance skeptically at this bold interloper and his exciting prize. De Vorsey's sub- ject is an intelligent, vain, and controversial eighteenth-century botanist, al- chemist, surveyor, cartographer, engineer, and sometime mystic named William Gerard De Brahm, whose austerely titled "Report of the General Survey in the Southern District of North America" may be as enigmatic as its author. Based on De Brahm's experience in South Carolina, Georgia, and East Florida between 1751 and 1771, the "Report" is a mixture of first-rate geographical description, speculative theories, prescriptive human adjustments to environment, and per- sonal exploits, vaingloriously obtrusive. The reader who is tolerant of De Brahm's digressions can receive a good, and at times excellent, introduction to this region. The volume is in two parts. The editor's biographical essay, which comprises more than a fifth of the book and three-fifths of the footnotes, is followed by the text, maps, and charts of De Brahm's "Report." Although fragments of the "Re- port" have previously appeared in print, this publication marks the first oc- casion the entire manuscript (except for several pages of mathematical com- putations) has been assembled and made accessible. The "Report" consists of three sections, each of which describes a colony via topics such as boundaries, history, Indians, towns, fortifications, hydrography, soils, and climate. De Brahm avoids encyclopedic regional description by using a theme of environmental variations and potentialities and of human adjustments incumbent on prospec- tive settlers. His assessment of East Florida should delight all geographers who are curious about soil improvement, about house construction and climate, or about diet, clothing, and regimen suitable to the subtropics. A comparative vignette on viticulture in Europe and North America and on its potential in East Florida is included. Sadly, these contributions are often diluted by lengthy digressions into De Brahm's bizarre theories or his personal exploits. In the biographical essay De Vorsey constructs a plausible interpretation of De Brahm as a brilliant, eclectic scientist whose cartographic and reportorial skills have been acknowledged by specialists. He gently dismisses the controversies and accusations that pocked De Brahm's career as personal conflicts among will- ful men. However, one of these charges, if substantiated, could cast doubt on the 285 285 This content downloaded from 194.29.185.62 on Fri, 9 May 2014 10:05:16 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW THE GEOGRAPHICAL REVIEW reliability of the "Report" and on De Brahm's scholarly stature. I refer to the accusation made in 1770 by Governor James Grant of East Florida that De Brahm profiteered in his post as provincial surveyor while he turned the "Gen- eral Survey" over to his deputies. De Brahm was ordered back to England to answer these charges, and there he compiled his "Report" from 1771 to 1773. In his defense, the "Report," with its wealth of description, tables, and maps, was sufficient vindication, and De Brahm won acquittal from the Board of Treasury -and from our editor and biographer. However, no direct evidence was ad- duced to deny Grant's indictment. Was De Brahm profiteering in St. Augustine, or was he in the field conducting the survey? Circumstantial evidence further clouds De Vorsey's thesis. The objectivity of the East Florida section of the "Re- port" contrasts sharply with the personal thrust of the other sections; is it there- fore possible that De Brahm's deputy surveyor, the eminent Bernard Romans, was responsible for that section? Further evaluation of the "Report" and of the credits due must await study of the conduct of the survey in East Florida. In general, the book is well executed, despite several minor irritants. The omission of De Brahm's descriptive chapter titles from the table of contents is annoying, especially since the inadequate index lists persons and places but only a few subjects. The twenty-nine plates-maps, charts, and fortifications-lack numbers and captions, and reduction is occasionally excessive. Footnotes appear at the end of the book; they are ampliative, although curious gaps exist. For ex- ample, De Brahm's complicated theory of matter and chemistry, vital in his dis- cussions of soil, health, and weather, remains incomprehensible to me. Finally, several pages of the manuscript were expunged because of their technical nature or their extended length; I would have preferred at least a sample, especially from the East Florida survey data. Scholars of the southeastern United States will welcome the publication of De Brahm's "Report," but it is geographers who are especially indebted to the editor. His painstakingly documented biography and informative notes will serve as guideposts for future geographical "explorations" of this kind.-CAR- VILLE V. EARLE THE NORTH AMERICAN CITY. By MAURICE H. YEATES and BARRY J. GAR- NER. xviii and 536 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. Harper and Row, Publishers, New York, Evanston, and elsewhere, 1971. $13.00. 91/2 x 7/4 inches. When Dmitri Mendeleev formulated the law in 1869 stating that the properties of elements are periodic functions of their atomic weights, he was advancing a framework which not only organized existing knowledge about valence, densi- ties, melting points, chemical activity, and so forth, but which also identified gaps in knowledge. Such grand conceptual leaps in a science fit together the vital pieces of old puzzles and consign the trivial ones to obscurity. The leap is over- due in human geography; but until a Mendeleev emerges to recast what we know in a framework of elegance and power, textbook authors can only rearrange existing materials. Among introductory urban geography texts, "The North American City" is currently the best arrangement. Following a desultory introductory chapter, which examines a variety of definitions, concepts, methodological statements, and exaggerated contrasts be- tween "early studies" and "a scientific geography," Yeates and Garner briskly reliability of the "Report" and on De Brahm's scholarly stature. I refer to the accusation made in 1770 by Governor James Grant of East Florida that De Brahm profiteered in his post as provincial surveyor while he turned the "Gen- eral Survey" over to his deputies. De Brahm was ordered back to England to answer these charges, and there he compiled his "Report" from 1771 to 1773. In his defense, the "Report," with its wealth of description, tables, and maps, was sufficient vindication, and De Brahm won acquittal from the Board of Treasury -and from our editor and biographer. However, no direct evidence was ad- duced to deny Grant's indictment. Was De Brahm profiteering in St. Augustine, or was he in the field conducting the survey? Circumstantial evidence further clouds De Vorsey's thesis. The objectivity of the East Florida section of the "Re- port" contrasts sharply with the personal thrust of the other sections; is it there- fore possible that De Brahm's deputy surveyor, the eminent Bernard Romans, was responsible for that section? Further evaluation of the "Report" and of the credits due must await study of the conduct of the survey in East Florida. In general, the book is well executed, despite several minor irritants. The omission of De Brahm's descriptive chapter titles from the table of contents is annoying, especially since the inadequate index lists persons and places but only a few subjects. The twenty-nine plates-maps, charts, and fortifications-lack numbers and captions, and reduction is occasionally excessive. Footnotes appear at the end of the book; they are ampliative, although curious gaps exist. For ex- ample, De Brahm's complicated theory of matter and chemistry, vital in his dis- cussions of soil, health, and weather, remains incomprehensible to me. Finally, several pages of the manuscript were expunged because of their technical nature or their extended length; I would have preferred at least a sample, especially from the East Florida survey data. Scholars of the southeastern United States will welcome the publication of De Brahm's "Report," but it is geographers who are especially indebted to the editor. His painstakingly documented biography and informative notes will serve as guideposts for future geographical "explorations" of this kind.-CAR- VILLE V. EARLE THE NORTH AMERICAN CITY. By MAURICE H. YEATES and BARRY J. GAR- NER. xviii and 536 pp.; maps, diagrs., ills., bibliogr., index. Harper and Row, Publishers, New York, Evanston, and elsewhere, 1971. $13.00. 91/2 x 7/4 inches. When Dmitri Mendeleev formulated the law in 1869 stating that the properties of elements are periodic functions of their atomic weights, he was advancing a framework which not only organized existing knowledge about valence, densi- ties, melting points, chemical activity, and so forth, but which also identified gaps in knowledge. Such grand conceptual leaps in a science fit together the vital pieces of old puzzles and consign the trivial ones to obscurity. The leap is over- due in human geography; but until a Mendeleev emerges to recast what we know in a framework of elegance and power, textbook authors can only rearrange existing materials. Among introductory urban geography texts, "The North American City" is currently the best arrangement. Following a desultory introductory chapter, which examines a variety of definitions, concepts, methodological statements, and exaggerated contrasts be- tween "early studies" and "a scientific geography," Yeates and Garner briskly 286 286 This content downloaded from 194.29.185.62 on Fri, 9 May 2014 10:05:16 AM All use subject to JSTOR Terms and Conditions http://www.jstor.org/page/info/about/policies/terms.jsp Article Contents p.285 p.286 Issue Table of Contents Geographical Review, Vol. 63, No. 2 (Apr., 1973), pp. 147-300 Front Matter Belmopan: Perspective on a New Capital [pp.147-169] Geophagy in Africa and in the United States: A Culture-Nutrition Hypothesis [pp.170-195] The Evolution of Cotton Ginning in the Southeastern United States [pp.196-224] The Bases of Territorial Claims [pp.225-245] World Energy Resources: Survey and Review [pp.246-258] Presentation of the Society's Awards [pp.259-260] The American Geographical Society. Annual Report of the Council [pp.261-269] Geographical Record [pp.270-276] Obituary: Richard Joel Russell (1895-1971) [pp.276-279] Obituary: Louise Arner Boyd (1887-1972) [pp.279-282] Geographical Reviews untitled [pp.283-285] untitled [pp.285-286] untitled [pp.286-288] untitled [pp.288-290] untitled [pp.290-292] untitled [pp.292-293] untitled [pp.293-295] untitled [pp.295-296] untitled [pp.296-298] Abstracts of Articles [pp.299-300] Back Matter


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