The Geographical Journal (Journal of the Royal Geographical Society): Volume IX, No. 4 [‎224r] (118/172)

THE TEACHING OF GEOGRAPHY IN RELATION TO HISTORY. 435
4 . The distribution of languages and dialects.
5. The proportion of foreigners in England and of Englishmen abroad; the
knowledge of foreign languages in England, and of English by foreigners.
6 . The influence of geography on education.
7. The distribution of religious beliefs.
8 . Districts of Europe possessing the closest relations with English life,
especially the main towns of the Netherlands, e.g. Middleburg of Chaucer’s
merchant: “ He would the sea were kept for anything between Middleburg and
Orewell.” Orewell was the port of Ipswich, and the trade was considerable
between these places. Also of France, e.g. Bordeaux, which belonged to England,
Chaucer’s Shipman: “ Full many a draught of wine he hadde drawn, from
Bordeaux wood while that the chapman sleep.”
In this connection it is important to notice that the history of Europe should
be studied in its broad outlines at each of these epochs, such as 1350-1400, so far
as it is necessary to understand the relations of Europe and the British Isles. The
events in the history of France, for instance, which affected the British Isles at
that date should be studied at the time when the student is considering the
history and geography of that epoch of the British Isles, and not, as is the case
now, omitted or left for some future time when he may study the history of
France. It will be remembered that this will not entail any great additional
work, as the student will already have some knowledge of the geography of France
and the main points of its present history. It would, of course, be difficult and
even unnecessary to put all these points in a diagrammatic form, but I think that the
attempt to do so would give them clearness, and open a student’s eyes to many new
and instructive problems.
It will possibly be objected that the history of the English people must neces
sarily be studied as the history of their gradual evolution, and that these periods
will overlap so much as to make it difficult to obtain any concise and definite
idea of their [position at one epoch. If, however, we take the illustration of a
child ^rowing up to manhood, we always find change and progress, and yet it
is possible to take a photograph or draw a character at one definite epoch in
that evolution. Possibly, like the conventional picture of the trotting horse, it
may never be exactly true, but it will be sufficiently so for ordinary purposes.
These periods or epochs selected may be considered as a series of photographs
of the life of the English people at different ages, intended to add vividness to the
study of history. . , ,,
A consideration, therefore, of the geographical conditions at this epoch would
undoubtedly give the student a standpoint from which to obtain a clear view of
the different streams—such as literature, trade, social life, etc. . which ma e up
the history of that time. Every one of them, he will find, was influenced by the
geographical conditions, and geography will therefore be seen to form a common bond
which unites the threads of history. It is difficult to understand why history and
geography have not always been taught in connection, but it may perhaps be due
in England to the fact that we have no great physical features that absolutely force
themselves on our attention. In countries such as Switzerland the forces of nature
are so overwhelming that geography naturally takes an important place; but in
England teachers seem to think that a few platitudes-such as our insular position
and the influence of the Gulf Stream— constitute all that there is of importance for
history. It is, however, only possible for a student to really appreciate history
when he understands the great truth, that the widening of the horizon of bought
has been, in the main, coextensive with the widening of geographical knowledge.
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