Maps in a situation of uncertainty: The Kamchatka controversy between 1737 and 1738 as an indication of a crisis in French cartography

• Main Author: Verdier, Nicolas
• Other Authors: EHGO, Géographie-cités (GC (UMR_8504)), Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne (UP1)-Université Paris Diderot - Paris 7 (UPD7)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Rytchalovsky E. (dir.)
• Format: Book Part
• Language: French
• Published: HAL CCSD 2015
• Subjects: EHGO; COUV; [SHS.GEO]Humanities and Social Sciences/Geography; [SHS.HIST]Humanities and Social Sciences/History; Kamchatka
• Online Access: https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03033067; https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03033067/document; https://shs.hal.science/halshs-03033067/file/Verdier%20carte%20incertitude.pdf

International audience Between 1737 and 1738, a controversy between Nicolas Belin, Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville and Louis Bertrand Castel was to develop in various French media. The subject was the comparison between several maps representing Kamchatka. What is at stake at this moment is the direct consequence of the poor knowledge of this region, while the public is asking for maps to understand the expeditions taking place there. Whatever they are, the maps are ultimately nothing more than hypotheses. The positive history of cartography clearly shows that cartography has lasting difficulty in representing little-known areas. However, the particularity of this case lies in the fact that it is made public far beyond scholarly circles. At the heart of the Age of Enlightenment, readers of newspapers, such as the Mercure de France, or the Mémoires de Trévoux, are informed that cartography is partly based on intuition, and not on accuracy, even among recognised geographers. It is on this fragility of the map that we will focus here, not only by looking at the stakes of this publicity, but also by placing it in the history of the coexistence of different types of cartography. Entre 1737 et 1738 une controverse opposant Nicolas Belin, Jean-Baptiste Bourguignon d'Anville et Louis Bertrand Castel, va se développer dans différents médias français. Le sujet en est la comparaison entre plusieurs cartes représentant le Kamtchatka. Ce qui se joue à ce moment est la conséquence directe de la médiocre connaissance de cette région, cela alors que le public est demandeur de cartes pour comprendre les expéditions qui s'y déroulent. Quelles qu'elles soient, les cartes ne sont finalement que des hypothèses. L'histoire positive de la cartographie montre bien que la cartographie peine durablement à représenter des zones peu connues. Pourtant, la particularité de ce cas réside dans le fait qu'il est rendu public bien au-delà des cercles savants. Au cœur du Siècle des Lumières, les lecteurs des journaux, comme le Mercure de ...