I love old books. They give me a window into a different time, showing me how people thought and what they knew. When a friend recently invited me to help her purge her bookshelves, I jumped at the chance.
One of the books I came home with was Mitchell’s New Primary Geography, printed in Philadelphia in 1871. By this date, I assumed all the world had been mapped, with the possible exceptions of the extreme north and south poles . Since 1871 was the year that Henry Morton Stanley began his quest for Dr. Livingston, I could guess that some of the African interior remained uncharted. But the circumnavigation of the globe was old news, and, I assumed, most of the information presented wouldn’t be that much different than what present day geography books contained.
I was wrong.
On the first page, the book states that there are eight planets. Oh, wait: that’s the case again today. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the ninth planet, in 1930, but Pluto was demoted from planetary status in 2006.
One of the books I came home with was Mitchell’s New Primary Geography, printed in Philadelphia in 1871. By this date, I assumed all the world had been mapped, with the possible exceptions of the extreme north and south poles . Since 1871 was the year that Henry Morton Stanley began his quest for Dr. Livingston, I could guess that some of the African interior remained uncharted. But the circumnavigation of the globe was old news, and, I assumed, most of the information presented wouldn’t be that much different than what present day geography books contained.
I was wrong.
On the first page, the book states that there are eight planets. Oh, wait: that’s the case again today. Clyde Tombaugh discovered Pluto, the ninth planet, in 1930, but Pluto was demoted from planetary status in 2006.
But the second page says that there are three continents: the Western, the Eastern, and the Australian. A map a few pages on has the words “Western Continent” spanning North and South America, while Europe, Asia and Africa are identified as the “Eastern Continent.” Antarctica is nowhere to be seen on this map. While I had always thought there were 7 Continents, a quick search of the web showed that some geographers are now combining Asia and Europe into one continent, setting the number at 6. Others count Greenland and claim 8 continents.
Later, on page 12, the continents are divided into the grand divisions of Europe, Asia, Africa (which is considered a peninsula), North and South America, and Oceania. Antarctica is nothing but a series of indistinct lines waving along the bottom of the map. I guess the Southern portion of the globe had yet to be mapped.
All of these differences are matters of exploration and/or different ways of organizing facts. Mitchell’s Geography becomes truly shocking to modern sensibilities on page 11, when it states that there are five races in the world, and that the White, or Caucasian is superior to the others. The book offers no explanation of this statement, but is presented as just as factual as the number of planets or continents. Perhaps the authors thought that White man's superiority could be attributed to climate. Mitchell asserts that the Earth is divided into three climate zones, which he states affect the constitution, customs, and health of mankind. The coldest parts of the globe, the Frigid Zone, makes men stupid and inactive according to this textbook. The Torrid Zone, where fruits and flowers abound, makes men weak and languid, with indolent habits. It’s only in the Temperate Zone where man is healthiest, happiest, and most civilized.
Page 12 divides the governmental systems of the world into empires, kingdoms and republics. There is no mention of tribal or communal organizations. The religions of the world are Christian, Jewish, Mohammedan, and Pagan. Strange, to lump Hinduism in with Native American religions into that last category.
When describing the population of the United States, this textbook states that “The population of the United States is upwards of thirty-eight millions, of whom about one-eighth are Negroes. The Indians are ignorant and barbarous, and are but few in number.” I suppose minimizing the number of Indians on the North American Continent helped justify the taking of their land. There is no mention of the Hispanics that occupied the Southwestern Territories of New Mexico, Texas, and Arizona.
I guess I shouldn’t have been surprised by the information provided in this old book, but still, it did shock me to see how very ethnocentric it was. Perhaps the world hasn’t changed much in 150 years, but our perception of it and the people who inhabit it certainly has. We still have a long way to go before society treats everyone equally, but at least we are no longer using textbooks that disparage so much of the human population.
