Humboldt’scher Forscherdrang und britische Kolonialinteressen: Die Indien- und Hochasien-Reise der Brüder Schlagintweit (1854-1858)

von Brescius, Moritz Hans (2015). Humboldt’scher Forscherdrang und britische Kolonialinteressen: Die Indien- und Hochasien-Reise der Brüder Schlagintweit (1854-1858). In: von Brescius, Moritz; Kaiser, Friederike; Kleidt, Stephanie (eds.) Über den Himalaya. Die Expedition der Brüder Schlagintweit nach Indien und Zentralasien 1854 bis 1858 (pp. 31-88). Wien, Köln, Weimar: Böhlau

[img] Text
BRESCIUS 2015 Forscherdrang und Kolonialinteressen.pdf - Published Version
Restricted to registered users only
Available under License Publisher holds Copyright.

Download (55MB)

This chapter has three major aims. First, it analyses the mechanisms behind the recruitment of German scholars into the service of the British Empire in India around the mid-19th century. It explores how the German lands were integrated into the knowledge networks of the Company-Raj, and how Berlin acted as a hub for scientific research on the geography and history of South and “High Asia”. Second, the work exposes the colonial context, in which the Schlagintweit mission took place, and demonstrates that the expedition and its scientific practices were heavily influenced by the imperial ambitions of the British in Asia. This was reflected in the wealth of information and material objects gathered by the brothers and their entourage with a view to expanding British trade, and also agricultural and settlement schemes, further into the Himalayas and beyond. Third, using a range of hitherto unexplored sources, the work critically examines the myth of the Schlagintweit brothers as supposedly ‘heroic’ solitary travellers. It places emphasis on the constant cross-cultural encounters and forms of collaboration with a number of indigenous assistants and guides that decisively shaped the execution and the scientific results of the entire expedition.

Item Type:

Book Section (Book Chapter)

Division/Institute:

06 Faculty of Humanities > Department of History and Archaeology > Institute of History

UniBE Contributor:

von Brescius, Moritz Hans

Subjects:

900 History > 910 Geography & travel
900 History > 920 Biography & genealogy
900 History > 940 History of Europe
900 History > 950 History of Asia

ISBN:

978-3-412-22493-6

Publisher:

Böhlau

Language:

German

Submitter:

Moritz Hans von Brescius

Date Deposited:

02 Jul 2019 11:23

Last Modified:

05 Dec 2022 15:22

BORIS DOI:

10.7892/boris.122219

URI:

https://boris.unibe.ch/id/eprint/122219

Actions (login required)

Edit item Edit item
Provide Feedback