Imperial Borderlands: Maps and Territory-Building in the Northern Indochinese Peninsula (1885-1914)

Description

Based on colonial archives and indigenous maps, this book delivers a connected history of imperial margins in Southeast Asia by comparing the British and French geographical policies and practices at the end of the 19th century. Contents Foreword Acknowledgements Figures Acronyms and Transcription Conventions Introduction 1 A History of Maps and Territories 2 Confines, Margins, Frontiers: Space as an Object 3 Connecting Empires Chapter 1 Connected Histories of Exploration 1 A Well-Stocked Colonial Library with a Long History 2 Geographies of Exploration and Travel Narratives before 1885 3 Colonial Knowledge and Empire-Building after 1885 Chapter 2 Colonial Geographical Departments and Large-Scale Map-Making Programmes 1 The Creation of Colonial Geographical Departments 2 Systematic Mapping of the Whole Territory: A Qualitative Advance? 3 Meeting the Challenge of Limited Staff, Budgets and Material Chapter 3 Geographical Institutions: Collaboration, Competition, and Confrontation 1 Rivalry and Cooperation between Map-Makers 2 The Circulation and Uses of Maps Chapter 4 Triangulation “from the Mountains to the Sea” 1 Tough Working Conditions and a Dangerous Terrain 2 Topographers and Geodetic Surveyors in Action: Adapting Standard Practice 3 Human Settlements and Dwellings: A Map-Maker’s Headache Chapter 5 Consulting the Local Population 1 The Role of Intelligence: Local Information Sources during the Conquest 2 Place Names, the Impossible Task Chapter 6 Using Asian Maps: Borrowings and Reworkings 1 Checking Historical Borders Chapter 7 Colonial Roads and Territorial Reconfigurations 1 Travelling across the Territory 2 The Margins Reconfigured by Roads Chapter 8 Locating, Demarcating, and Crossing the Border 1 Theoretical Variations 2 Boundary Marking in Practice 3 Border Controls and Infringements Chapter 9 Logics of Rule and Territorial Anomalies 1 The Specific Status of the Frontier Provinces 2 Unstable Territorial Divisions Conclusion Bibliography Index