The Project Gutenberg EBook of Influences of Geographic Environment
by Ellen Churchill Semple

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Title: Influences of Geographic Environment
On the Basis of Ratzel's System of Anthropo-Geography

Author: Ellen Churchill Semple

Release Date: March 8, 2005 [EBook #15293]

Language: english

Character set encoding: ASCII

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INFLUENCES OF GEOGRAPHIC ENVIRONMENT
ON THE BASIS OF RATZEL'S SYSTEM OF
ANTHROPO-GEOGRAPHY

BY ELLEN CHURCHILL SEMPLE

TO THE MEMORY OF FRIEDRICH RATZEL

Hither, as to their fountain, other stars
Repairing, in their golden urns draw light.
MILTON.

PREFACE

The present book, as originally planned over seven years ago, was to be
a simplified paraphrase or restatement of the principles embodied in
Friedrich Ratzel's _Anthropo-Geographie_. The German work is difficult
reading even for Germans. To most English and American students of
geographic environment it is a closed book, a treasure-house bolted and
barred. Ratzel himself realized "that any English form could not be a
literal translation, but must be adapted to the Anglo-Celtic and
especially to the Anglo-American mind." The writer undertook, with
Ratzel's approval, to make such an adapted restatement of the
principles, with a view to making them pass current where they are now
unknown. But the initial stages of the work revealed the necessity of a
radical modification of the original plan.

Ratzel performed the great service of placing anthropo-geography on a
secure scientific basis. He had his forerunners in Montesquieu,
Alexander von Humboldt, Buckle, Ritter, Kohl, Peschel and others; but he
first investigated the subject from the modern scientific point of view,
constructed his system according to the principles of evolution, and
based his conclusions on world-wide inducti