Thesis (M. Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes special report study entitled: Natural light, museum and underground space. Includes bibliographical references.

Thesis (M.Arch.)--University of Hong Kong, 1996. / Includes special report study entitled : Natural light, museum and underground space. Includes bibliographical references. Also available in print.

This thesis identifies and discusses historical and literary sources describing four species in the process of reintroduction: lynx (Lynx lynx), large whale (esp. Eubalena glacialis), beaver (Castor fiber) and crane (Grus grus). The scope includes medieval and early modern texts in English, Latin, and Welsh written in Britain before the species went extinct. The aims for each species are: (i) to reconstruct the medieval cultural memory; (ii) to contribute a cohesive extinction narrative; and (iii) to catalogue and provide an eco-sensitive reading of the main historical and literary references. Each chapter focuses on a different species: 1. The chapter on lynxes examines some new early references to the lynx and argues that the species became extinct in south Britain c.900 AD. Some hard-to-reconcile seventeenth century Scottish accounts are also explored. 2. The chapter on whales attributes the beginning of whale hunting to the ninth century in Britain, corresponding with the fish event horizon; but suggests a professional whaling industry only existed from the late medieval period. 3. The chapter on beavers identifies extinction dates based on the increasingly confused literary references to the beaver after c.1300 in south Britain and after c.1600 in Scotland, and the increase in fur importation. 4. The chapter on cranes emphasises the mixed perception of the crane throughout the medieval and early modern period. Cranes were simultaneously depicted as courtly falconers’ birds, greedy gluttons, and vigilant soldiers. More generally, the thesis considers the levels of reliability between eyewitness accounts and animal metaphors. It examines the process of ‘redelimitation’ which is triggered by population decline, whereby nomenclature and concepts attached to one species become transferred to another. Finally, it emphasises geographical determinism: species generally become extinct in south Britain centuries before Scotland.

By focusing on the “nature” of mapping, this thesis falls under the category of critical cartography closely associated with the work of Brian Harley in the 1980s and early 1990s. As such the purpose of this research is to highlight the historical context of British maps, map-making and map-reading in relation to West Africa between 1749 and 1841. I argue that maps lie near the heart of Britain’s interactions with West Africa though their appearance, construction and use evolved dramatically during this period. By beginning this study with a prominent French example (Jean Baptiste Bourguignon d’Anville’s 1749 “Afrique”) I show how British map-makers adapted cartography from France for their own purposes before circumstances encouraged the development of new materials. Because of the limited opportunities to make enquiries in the region and the relatively few people involved in affecting change to the map’s content, this thesis highlights the episodes and manufactured narratives which feature in the chronology of evolving cartographies. This study concludes with the failure of the 1841 Niger Expedition, when Britain’s humanitarian agenda saw the attempted establishment of a model farm on banks of the Niger River and the negotiation of anti-slave trade treaties with nearby Africans. The cartography and geographical knowledge which supported this scheme is in stark contrast with what existed in the mid-eighteenth century. More than simply illustrating geographical and ethnographical information though, these maps helped inform Britons about themselves and I argue that much of what occurs here features prominently in national discourses about identity, civilization and the justification of British efforts to improve Africa.

Orientador: Maria Margaret Lopes / Tese (doutorado) - Universidade Estadual de Campinas, Instituto de Geociencias / Made available in DSpace on 2018-08-05T17:53:27Z (GMT). No. of bitstreams: 1 Varela_AlexGoncalves_D.pdf: 1047512 bytes, checksum: 55836c1b2765c3729fc2a9fac91c9937 (MD5) Previous issue date: 2005 / Resumo: No ano de 1796, o ministro da Marinha e Ultramar do Governo mariano, D. Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, elaborou um programa político-reformista que visava modernizar a administração do Império Português, para assim assegurar o domínio da parte mais rica ¿ o Brasil e, sobretudo, salvar o Reino e a Monarquia Portuguesa. Entre as medidas tomadas pelo ministro estava o estudo das ¿produções naturais ¿ coloniais, uma vez que as considerava como fontes de riquezas que ajudariam a promover o desenvolvimento da nação portuguesa. Para o mapeamento, exploração e análise do mundo natural das colônias, D. Rodrigo se aliou aos naturalistas, que foram contratados em diversas regiões da América Portuguesa. Na Capitania de São Paulo, os estudiosos arregimentados para trabalhar a serviço da Coroa foram: João Manso Pereira, Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada, e José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva. O objetivo da Tese de Doutorado consiste em discutir a contribuição da atividade científica praticada pelos mencionados naturalistas ilustrados, através de suas viagens e memórias científicas, para o processo de institucionalização das ciências naturais na referida Capitania. Suas memórias científicas no campo da História Natural constituíram-se como as principais fontes de análise da pesquisa, uma vez que elas foram o principal instrumento que permitiu observar a concepção de ciência com que os naturalistas operavam, sua postura teórico-metodológica, quais as apropriações que fizeram das modernas teorias científicas e como buscaram aplicá-las ao seu contexto local, entre outras questões. Tais textos foram analisados por meio do cruzamento com o contexto histórico, cultural e científico em que foram concebidos, permitindo assim observar como se deu a produção da ciência em seu ambiente local. Portanto, as memórias produzidas pelos naturalistas mencionados constituíram-se como a ¿pedra preciosa ¿ para refutar a tese de que a América Portuguesa, em especial a Capitania de São Paulo, caracterizou-se por um grande vazio de práticas científicas no período compreendido entre o final do setecentos e o início do oitocentos / Abstract: In 1796, the Navy and Overseas Minister of the Mariano¿s Government, Dom Rodrigo de Sousa Coutinho, elaborated a political-reformist program which aimed to modernize the administration of the Portuguese Empire, guaranteeing this way the command of its richest part ¿ Brazil, and above all, save the kingdom, and the Portuguese Monarchy. Among the measures took by the Minister was the study of the colonial ¿natural productions¿, once he considered as wealth sources which would help to promote the development of the Portuguese nation. In order to map, explore and analyze the colonies¿ natural world, D. Rodrigo allied with the naturalists, hired in many regions of the Portuguese America. In the Captaincy of São Paulo the allocated studious to work to the Crown¿s service were: João Manso Pereira, Martim Francisco Ribeiro de Andrada e José Bonifácio de Andrada e Silva. The object of the Doctorate Thesis is to present the scientific activity practiced by these Enlightened naturalists, through its scientific memories, discussing these activities contribution to the process of institutionalization of the natural sciences in the Portuguese America, in special of its referred Captaincy. Their scientific memories in the field of Natural History constituted as the principal sources of the analysis of the research, once they were the main instrument that allowed to observe the conception of science by which the naturalists work, their theoric-methodological posture, what did they take from the modern scientific theories and how they get in applying them to the local context, among other questions. Such texts were analysed by means of crossing its historical, cultural and scientifical context in which they were conceived, allowing them to observe how the productions of science happened in the local environment. Therefore, the memories produced by the naturalists above mentioned constituted as the ¿precious stone¿ to refute the thesis that the Portuguese America, in special the Captaincy of SP, characterized as a great blank of scientific practices in the period between the final of the 1700¿s and the beginning of 1800¿s / Doutorado / Doutor em Geociências