Official
INTERNATIONAL
MAP DAY
February 3rd, 2022
Great Ecological Explorers of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin
Official
INTERNATIONAL
MAP DAY
February 3rd, 2022
Great Ecological Explorers of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin
Official
INTERNATIONAL MAP DAY
February 3rd, 2022
Great Ecological Explorers
of the 17th, 18th, and 19th Centuries
Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin
"Here at Maps.com, we love to celebrate maps.What better way to celebrate than to give Maps their own day!”
JOHN GLANVILLE, MAPS.COM CEO
A first in map-making, this year's contribution to International Map Day from Maps.com marks the voyages of early ecological explorers Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin, both in a full-scale wall map as well as within a digital story map.
Travel with us into the early explorations and foundations for ecology!
Before jet travel and the World Wide Web, a progression of early ecological explorers traveled the oceans for years at a time to advance our concepts of the natural world. Their voyages begat books of observational science to inspire future generations to continue the search of how humanity fits in within the wonders of ecology.
Louis Antoine de Bougainville was born in Paris, France, in 1729. He joined the military and ended up in the French navy. He wrote an account of his voyages in the South Pacific called A Voyage Round the World, 1772. The French government paid Bougainville to circumnavigate, or circle Earth, in 1766. He could claim land for France. His party included scientists, including naturalists. His frigate ship was called La Boudeuse. It was 40 meters long and only 10 1/2 meters wide. Just over 200 men were on board.
Alexander von Humboldt was a German explorer and naturalist during the 1800s. His work contributed to the studies of geography, climatology, ecology, and other sciences. Humboldt was fascinated with scientific exploration. Although German himself, he received permission from Spain to visit their colonies in Central and South America. These areas had been only accessible to Spanish officers and missionaries of the Roman Catholic Church. Humboldt was one of the first people to propose that the lands bordering the Atlantic Ocean were once joined (South America and Africa in particular).
English naturalist Charles Robert Darwin is likely the most famous of the ecological explorers. His voyage on the HMS Beagle, which began in 1831, helped him formulate his ideas about evolution. Darwin believed that animals and humans shared a common ancestry. He concluded that through natural selection, life evolved to the complexity we see today. His book On the Origin of the Species documented his theories. Interestingly, Darwin's knowledge of Humboldt's adventures in South America helped inspire his own voyage. His journals of his travels were also published as the Voyage of the Beagle.
While much of the Age of Exploration was economically driven, other adventurers focused on learning more about the animal and plant life of newly discovered lands. These ecological explorers helped increase our understanding of our world. Englishman Charles Darwin is probably the most famous among these pioneers. Frenchman Louis Antoine de Bougainville and German Alexander von Humboldt also contributed to the field. This story map follows all three as they sailed to explore the world and its wonders.
A first in map-making, the "Early Ecological Explorers: Bougainville, Humboldt, and Darwin" map traces the route of all three of these explorers and is available both in print and as a part of a digital story map. It marks their voyages and illustrates the progression of where they traveled, for years at a time, to advance our concepts of the natural world. Their voyages begat books of observational science to inspire future generations to continue the search of how humanity fits within the wonders of ecology.