Paul Vidal de la Blache (Pézenas, 1845 - Tamaris, 1918) was a French regional geographer. He is considered to be the founder of the modern French geography and also "the father" of the French School of Geopolitics.

He founded the École française de géographie ("French School of Geography) and together with Lucien Gallois, the Annales de géographie (1893), of which he was the editor until his death.

Publications

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Paul Vidal de la Blache produced an abundant amount of publications, totaling 17 books, 107 articles, and 240 reviews and reports, only some of which have been translated. Some of his more influential works include Collection de Cartes Murales Accomppagnees de Notices, designed for elementary students, Histoire et Geographie: Atlas General, and La France de l'Est. Two of his more famous writings are:

Tableau de la Geographie de la France (1903) This book is a geography of France and is organized, as one would expect, by regions. Within each, Vidal examines the subject as a pays (the French word for land or country), giving specific descriptions to landforms and other natural phenomena, and as a genre de vie, remarking on the history and cultural differences of the people. Also, Vidal talks about the avenues of transportation going to and from each region, an important element in the man-land relationship. Throughout the work attention is paid to the differences between urban and rural communities, with Vidal using his geographical concepts, as well as observations influenced from other sciences, to make his points.

Principles of Human Geography (1918) Although Vidal died while writing this book, one of his students, Emmanuel de Martonne, served as editor and finished the work. This book contains geographic analysis of regions and attributes with specific regard as to how they fit into the man-land relationship. Through looking at these features, Vidal attempts to portray each region as an example of the unity of man and land which is called environment. In considering population, raw materials, cultural development, patterns of settlement, and transportation, we see both the interconnectedness of environmental factors and how that relationship is cashed out in terms of possibilism.

External links

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• Paul Vidal de la Blache - A biographical sketch by Jason Hilkovitch & Max Fulkerson

Geopoliticians | 1845 births | 1918 deaths | French geographers | Alumni of the École Normale Supérieure

Paul Vidal de La Blache | Paul Vidal de La Blache | Paul Vidal de la Blache | Paul Vidal de La Blache