Historical geography, 2009-2010: Geohistoriography, the forgotten Braudel and the place of nominalism

Abstract

The 25th anniversary of the death of Fernand Braudel is used to draw attention to two different ways in which he conjoined history and geography. It is argued that Braudel was aware that geography is a constructed ordering device for historical studies, and that this insight is being pursued in a wide range of contemporary historical studies which might be labelled ‘geohistoriographical’. Particular attention is paid to work in Atlantic history and Enlightenment studies. It is suggested that geographers have an important part to play in furthering this insight, provided they keep to a rigorously nominalist conception of the role of place in such historical studies.

The global history of Latin America

“…This part identifies the principal periods and processes which should form the basis of engagement between global history and Latin American history, outlining a potentially rich and fruitful research agenda for both sides of this 'geohistoriographical' divide. 55 It is intended as a contribution to 'what might optimistically be considered to be a dialogue' between the two sides. 56 The first key period in which Latin America influenced and shaped global history is the well-known Columbian exchange from around 1500.…”

The making of Italian agricultural landscapes: Emilio Sereni, between geography, history and Marxism

“…78 In this regard, while Sereni owed much to the Annales school, it is important to stress that ideas and influence went in both directions. 79 For instance, the prince of French geo-history or 'geo-historiography', Fernand Braudel, in the third edition of his classic La Méditerranée et le monde méditerranéen à l'époque de Philippe II, cited Sereni as the major point of reference on Italy in comparison with Spain. Braudel wrote that 'on the multiple realities of the [Iberian] peninsula's forms of agriculture [the historian] does not even have available to him an overall rough outline comparable to Marc Bloch's book on the original character of French agriculture, or the sketch that Emilio Sereni has just given us on the Italian countryside and ploughing the land.'…”

Historical geography I

“…Research specifically targeting the circulation of knowledge has fostered a fluorescence of scholarship in recent years (Mayhew, 2011). A special issue of the Leiden-based journal Itinerario contains five articles on the subject of ‘Science and Global History, 1750–1850: Local Encounters and Global Circulation’ (Roberts, 2009).…”

“…Science in the service of empire in the Atlantic world is no longer a new topic (Mayhew, 2011), but the quality and volume of the scholarship continues to rise. Portuondo (2009) has written a stunning book documenting Spanish ‘secret science’ in the New World.…”