The Problem of Alsace-Lorraine

Scottish Geographical Magazine ISSN: 0036-9225 (Print) (Online) Journal homepage: http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rsgj19 The problem of Alsace-Lorraine Marion I. Newbigin D.Sc. To cite this article: Marion I. Newbigin D.Sc. (1918) The problem of Alsace-Lorraine, Scottish Geographical Magazine, 34:3, 81-90, DOI: 10.1080/14702541808555202 To link to this article: http://dx.doi.org/10.1080/14702541808555202 Published online: 30 Jan 2008. Submit your article to this journal Article views: 4 View related articles Full Terms & Conditions of access and use can be found at http://www.tandfonline.com/action/journalInformation?journalCode=rsgj19 Download by: [University of California, San Diego] Date: 28 June 2016, At: 16:40 THE SCOTTISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE. THE PROBLEM OF ALSACE-LORRAINE. ~ By MARION I. NEWBIGIN, D.Se. (With Sketch-Maps.) IT has, perhaps, b~eome a commonplace--though one which i~ seems worth while to repeat--that the conflagration which has extended to and beyond the confines of the c:,vilised world owed the rapidity of its spread to the pre-existence, in the Europe of peace, of four areas in which passions had been smouldering for years. The flames first leapt up along the belt where Europe proper meets the East in the Balkan Peninsula; but, in Alsace-Lorraine, in the Trentino, in Poland, especially Prussian Poland, human material was already near the ignition point. That the final outburst started from Sarajevo, and not from Zabern, should not blind us to the fact that the latter was al~o a danger point. At present, though the Balkan conflagration is far from being yet burnt out, it se~ms possible to say that there are indications, if as yet indistinct ones, tha~ it is not beyond human capacity to devise a political scheme which will at least lower the flash-point in future in that still-vexed area. But, it seems almost certain, bearing in mind the difference in social and industrial development between the East generally and ~he Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 16:40 28 June 2016 rest of Europe, that the world must reckon on the possibilities of explosions there for a long period of time. It is essential, therefore, that so far as possible we should guard against a new catastrophe by t~king care that such a chance leaping up of smouldering fires should 1 A lecture delivered at an afternoon meeting of the Society on February 7, 1918. The maps aeeompanyiugthis article, ~vith the exception of Fig. 5~ have been drawn by my sister, Miss Florence N.ewbigin, from my own rough sketches. For the block of Fig. 5~ I am indebted to the Society of Eugineers. The map was originally drawn for a paper by Prof. W. G. Fearnsides, of Sheffield University, who has kindly consented to its repro-. duetion here. VOL. XXXtV. G 82 SCOT'FISH GEOGRAPHICAL MAGAZINE, not find inflammable material elsewhere, and once more spread across Europe and the world. O[ the three other disturbed areas already named, the conditions in two cannot, at the moment, be profitably discussed. At first sight i~ may seem that the third problem, that of the political destiny of Alsace-Lorraine, is so simple as hardly to merit detailed consideration. It is, however, in point of fact one of considerable complexity, with bearings upon" many others which press for solution. On this account, therefore, it appears justifiable to set forth the elements of the situation in, so far as may be, a compact and convenient form, from the geograpM-- cal side. More than this will not be attempted here, for, though the object is to attempt to lay the basis for a political settlement, that settlement is in itself outside the sphere marked out. THE FRONTIERS OF FRANCE. It is not possible to appreciate fully the significance of the Alsace- Lorraine problem without a brief reference to the frontiers of France generally. The essential points are clearly brought out on the accom- panying sketch-map (Fig. 1), which shows that, with one notable exception, the boundaries of the country are for the most part natural: natural because, save in the north-east, they are made by steep-sided mountains of recent origin, or by the sea. In the tract which extends from the vicinity of the town of B£le to the North Sea, however, high land is either absent, or, where present, is not composed of young folded mountains. The contrast between the two types of high land is important, and to realise its significance it is necessary to glance for a moment at the general character of the Pyrenees, the Alps proper, and the Jura, which all play so important a part in demarcating France. To such bounding chains we may justly apply the term "natural," and that for two reasons whose relative value has changed in historical time. The first depends upon a fact of human geography, the second upon strategical needs. Pyrenees, Alps, Jura, alike, whatever their relative height, resemble one another in the steepness of their slopes, and therefore of their stream valleys ; in the rapidity with which erosion takes place, and therefore in the tendency to display bare ro~k surfaces and masses of coarse d6bris ; in the rapid change of slope in the valleys, and in the frequency of gorges. Generally, they show all the characters Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 16:40 28 June 2016 of areas which have undergone marked and geologically recent elevation. In consequence they tend, on the whole, to repel settlement, to constitute areas with a low density of population. Further, where settlement does take place, the peopled areas are isolated, and thus combination is diffi- cult, patriotism is local rather than national, and complex communities are not likely to arise. Such areas, therefore, are naturally marginal, not central, and seem to be set apart by nature as boundary zones. At a later stage in human history, when complex organised States have arisen in the plains which such mountains separate, these acquire a new importance, depending upon military needs. Lines of eommunica- THE PROBLEM OF ALSACE-LORRAINE. 83 tion across them are necessarily few, and they can be artificially blocked with greater or loss ease, for they are commanded by neighbouring heights. It is to the interest of the States on the near and hither side to strive to keep an invading army away from the accumulated wealth of the plains, and the physical features of the mountains facilitate this. Fro. 1.--Structural "Map of France showing boundaries in 1870 and in 1914. The young Downloaded by [University of California, San Diego] at 16:40 28 June 2016 folded mountains (Pyrenees, Alps) are indicated by one type of shading, the plateau regions, built up of old, hard rocks, by another. The unshaded areas are regions of mffolded, younger rocks, whose dip is for the most part slight. The area annexed by Germany from France in 1871 is dotted lightly. (I~pa~t after BurrOs,) Both of these are, of course, elementary points, but it is well to emphasise the close connection between the geological structure and history of such mountain belts, and their significance as natural frontier zones. The fact that, as the map suggests, they do not, as is sometimes !oosely supposed, consist of a single chain of crests, but of a series of 84 S()OTTIS H GEOGRAPBLICAL MAGAZI~ It;. folds (indicated by black lines) which may exercise marked influence on the course of the rivers, is of much importance in connection with their frontier function. Th3ir great elevation has also, o[ course, a marked effect on climate, and, in temperate latitudes, the mountain climate is unfavourable to settlement. We have next to consider the character of the uplands which occur, in two separate masses, on the north-eastern frontier of France. But, before doing this, it is important to note that, as the map shows, these share certain characters with other highlands, found well within the boundaries of France. The upland of Brittany, the irregularly shaped mass known to geographers as the Central Plateau, alike resemble the marginal highland s of the north-east in their geological structure and in their history. All are composed of old, hard rocks, sometimes mingled with volcanic beds belonging to a much later period. In all the surface has been worn down by long-continued erosion, so that, except-where recent faulting has taken place at their' margins, their slopes are gentle, their river valleys far less anomalous in character than those of the folded mountains. There are no true mountain peaks, and exposed rock surfaces do not occur over extensive areas. On the other hand, the soil is often infer- tiie or shallow, sometimes impermeable, and the areas tend to be covered with dense forest, or with upland bogs, or with upland pastures, or with a combination of all three, long after the lower grounds have been cleared for tillage. It is obvious then that, though to a less extent, they share the character of the true mountain belts in tending to repel settlement, and to be, whatever their position as regards the country as a whole, marginal in relation to its densely peopled lands. In all, therefore, we find human groups which have stood more or less aloof from the historical development of the lower grounds. The Breton language in Brittany, the persistence of German on the eastern slopes of the Vosges and in part of Lorraine, the non-Catholic communities of parts of the Central Plateau, are all indications of this fact.

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