In middle of 19th century, there was a period of political turmoil in Europe and there was a great demand for maps and charts. Military officers were interested in knowing physical and cultural conditions of different regions. Most of the experts were students of Carl Ritter.
Friedrich Ratzel (1844-1904)
Friedrich Ratzel was a prominent German geographer renowned for his significant contributions to the field of geography during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. He played a pivotal role in shaping geographical thought during his time and left a lasting impact on the discipline.
Ratzel’s work primarily focused on human geography, particularly the relationship between human societies and their natural environments. He explored various aspects of human migration, settlement patterns, and territorial expansion, seeking to understand the underlying geographical factors influencing these phenomena.
Ratzel’s seminal work, “Anthropogeography,” published in 1882, laid the foundation for his ideas on the relationship between human societies and geography. Another notable work is “Politische Geographie” (Political Geography), published in 1897, where he further explored the geopolitical implications of geographical factors on international relations and state dynamics.
Anthropogeographie:
Anthropogeographie is a German word that translates to “the geography of humans”. This is the book for which Ratzel is acknowledged all over the world. Its main focus is on the effects of different physical features and locations on the style of life of people. Hence, it studies the relationship between the man and the Earth. According to him, the physical environment controls the human activities. In his work, he used the ‘deductive approach’.
Ratzel’s deterministic approach became very popular outside Germany, especially in France, England and United States. Ms. Allen Churchill Semple was one of his pupils and staunch supporter of his environmental superiority philosophy.
Politische Geographie – Concept of Lebensraum:
Ratzel compared the state to an organism. He emphasized the fact that a state, like some simple organism must either grow or die and can never stand still. Ratzel is best known for his Organic theory of state (Lebensraum – living space) in which he compares the evolution of state to that of living organism. He applied Darwin’s biological concepts – human beings must struggle to survive in particular environments – ‘social darwinism’.
Ratzel espoused a form of social Darwinism, applying the idea of survival of the fittest to nation-states. He believed that human migration was necessary to gain the territory and resources required for a people to thrive. To Ratzel, the most powerful and fittest civilizations would prevail.
This philosophy of Lebensraum created controversy of superior or inferior race. According to him, superior people (nations) have a right to expand their territories (kingdoms) – ‘living space’ – at the expanse of inferior neighbours. Superior nations thus ruling over inferior people fulfils a natural organic necessity.
After the first world war, German geopoliticians revived Ratzel’s idea to suit their own ambition and as a result his writings were condemned by Anglo-American geographers.
