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The Role of Instruments in Exploration: A Study of the Royal Geographical Society 1830-1930 Jane Amanda Wess PhD in Geography The University of Edinburgh 2017 1 Abstract The thesis presents the first in-depth study of the role of measuring instruments in a leading scientific society concerned with field science. It draws upon a substantial literature in the history of science, geography, and exploration and makes use of actor network theory. The thesis considers the instruments to have been assimilated into an iterative cyclical process. By studying each aspect of the cycle, a comprehensive understanding of the integration of instruments into the working practices of the Society, the process of exploration, and ultimately the British imperialist endeavour, has been achieved. The start date is that of the founding of the Society. The end date approximates to the retirement of the map curator Edward Reeves, when recording practices at the Society changed. The century has coherence as the instruments remained essentially similar. The thesis therefore draws on a range of archival material: the journal articles, the medal awards, and the maps in addition to the paper archives, minute books and instruments themselves. The empirical findings have been enriched by reference to a substantial literature from historians of science, historical geographers and instrument historians. The thesis documents instrumental activity on behalf of the Society from acquisition to disposal or loss, regarding activity on behalf of the Society as ‘added resource’. The thesis argues that the ambitions of the Society were slow to be enacted, and that a collection of instruments for lending was not formed until 1850. The preparation of travellers has been discussed as a complementary activity; systematic provision is likewise found to have been slow. Having studied fifty expeditions with respect to instrument mobilisation, from which excerpts are presented, a number of factors are identified which affected success, and the fallibility of instruments is confirmed. The itineraries of over a thousand individual items have been charted and made available in a database which will assist future research. The agencies of the instruments have been considered to be knowledge creation, individual reputation, empire, and social relations. The RGS developed strategies for militating against the fallibility of instruments in the field to provide credible outcomes. The instrumental data was manipulated by a growing body of professionals which served to moderate results. The instruments conferred social and epistemological authority to some groups more than others, but not necessarily in the manner predicted by existing theories. The geographical endeavour could be subsumed into imperialist demands. The instruments reflected and strengthened existing social hierarchies. The conclusions drawn indicate that historians of science and geography need to look at the role of instruments in more detail than extant models of knowledge creation, including ANT, suggest. 2 Lay Abstract The thesis looks at the way the Royal Geographical Society used measuring instruments in order to further exploration in the century between 1830 and 1930. As the instruments were frequently sent out multiple times, and the same locations on the globe were repeatedly visited, the process can be considered cyclical, with data from the observations being sent back to the RGS in London. The resulting maps were compared and contrasted to contribute to an agreed knowledge of far-flung places. The start date is that of the founding of the Society. The end date approximates to the retirement of the map curator Edward Reeves, when recording practices at the Society changed. The century has coherence as the instruments remained essentially similar. The thesis draws on a range of material: The journal articles, the medal awards, and the maps in addition to the paper archives, minute books and instruments themselves. The thesis investigates the procurement of instruments by the Society, comparing what was considered ideal with what happened in practice. It views the instruments as items of value, with the RGS adding to that value by repairing, calibrating, testing, weeding out, inscribing and eventually insuring them. The thesis argues that the ambitions of the Society were slow to be enacted, and that a collection of instruments for lending was not formed until 1850. The Society also prepared travellers who were to use the instruments in the field, spending money and effort on producing texts and providing hands-on training. When the instruments and the travellers came together in the field the results should have been reliable. However, having studied fifty expeditions, it was found a number of factors could hamper observations, and the instruments were often fallible. The RGS developed strategies for dealing with fallible observations so that knowledge was created anyway. One method was the manipulation of results by human calculators and draughtsmen who could alter results if they were unbelievable. Another was the publication of papers containing no instrumental data. The mere fact of borrowing instruments was sufficient to increase the chance of a paper being published; it was not always necessary to use them effectively. The instruments were shown to enhance reputations but had less of a positive effect on women and non-Europeans. The RGS worked closely with the state; when under pressure, as in WW1, the government appropriated the Society’s amenities including the instruments so they worked directly for the British Empire. The instruments were also shown to reflect and strengthen existing social hierarchies. These findings do not align completely with any model of science. 3 LIST OF CONTENTS Title Page 1 Abstract 2 Lay Abstract 3 List of Contents 4 List of Figures 7 Acknowledgements 12 Abbreviations 14 CHAPTER 1: Introduction 15 Purpose of study 15 Primary Source Material 17 Archival Approach 21 Questions of Methodology 22 Thesis Framework and Principal Research Questions 27 CHAPTER 2: The Research Context 33 Histories of Science as Practice 33 Histories of Geography and Exploration 37 Instrument Studies 47 Conclusion 50 CHAPTER 3: Patterns of Activity 52 Instrument Acquisition 52 Instruments Deployed 59 Management of Instruments 63 Borrowers and Their Training 64 Expeditions 66 Types of Measurement or Activity 71 Outcomes 72 Conclusion 74 CHAPTER 4: Instruments and their Embedded Value 76 Defining ‘Proper’ Instruments 76 Acquisition Practice 85 Instrument Management 91 Instrument Design 100 4 Supporting Mathematics 107 Conclusion 113 CHAPTER 5: The Preparation of the Travellers 115 Recognition of Need 115 Advisory Texts 116 The Role of Hints (1883) Onwards 126 In-house Instruction 129 Conclusion 143 CHAPTER 6: Mobilisation in the Field 145 Factors Affecting Instrumental Practice: 148 The Ability of the Traveller 148 Physical Conditions 159 Human and Political Constraints 162 Logistical Issues 168 Systemic Issues 174 Conclusion 183 CHAPTER 7: Manipulation of Results 186 Calculation 189 Drawing and Map-Making 205 Conclusion 218 CHAPTER 8: The Agency of the Instruments 220 Knowledge Creation 220 The Creation of Reputations 235 The Creation of Imperial Power 240 The Construction of Social Relations 251 Conclusion 264 CHAPTER 9: Conclusion 265 Overview 265 Empirical Data Presented 267 Embedding Resource in Instruments 267 Resource Invested in Users 269 Mobilisation in the Field 271 Management of Data 273 The Agency of Instruments 275 5 BIBLIOGRAPHY 278 LIST OF EXTANT INSTRUMENTS 310 6 List of Figures 1.1: First page of ‘Instruments Lent To Travellers’ (1860-1933) 1.2 a and b: Pages from ‘Catalogue of Instruments’ (1879-1933) 1.3: The Arctic Council planning a search for Sir John Franklin by Stephen Pearce, (1851) 1.4 a and b: The Map Rooms at Savile Row and Lowther Lodge, 1912 and 1913 3.1: Number of Instruments Acquired by Year 1830 -1930 3.2: Expenditure on Purchase of Instruments by Year 1830-1930 3.3: Comparison of Acquisition and Expenditure 1830-1930 3.4: Report Listing Instruments Lent To Expeditions between 1879 and 1883 3.5 a and b: Number of Instruments Purchased From Individual Makers 1830-1879 and 1879 -1930 3.6: Instruments Commonly Used c.1830-1860 3.7: Instruments Commonly Used c.1860-1900 3.8: Instruments Commonly Used c. 1900-1930 3.9 a and b: Choice of Instrument: A Comparison Between the Number of Barometers and Aneroids Acquired, and Between the Number of Sextants and Theodolites Acquired 1879-1930 3.10: Expenditure on Instrument Repair 1864 to 1930 3.11: Comparison of Spend on Acquisition and Repair 1864-1930 3.12: Composition of Borrowers