RECENT GEOGRAPHIC ADVANCES 



385 



Photo from ''The Heart of the Antarctic," by H. Shackleton 

 A SEAL. DESTINED FOR THE DARDER: IN THE ANTARCTICS 



a whole, geographical knowledge of the 

 Dark Continent for three centuries, ad- 

 vancing only some 60 years since. 



AFRICA OF THE TWENTIETH CENTURY 



As bearing on geographic work, it 

 should be borne in mind that Africa has 

 been divided between European powers. 

 The most important spheres of control, 

 direct and indirect, in areas and in popu- 

 lation are approximately as follows : 

 France (including Morocco), area 45 

 per cent, population 24 per cent ; Great 

 Britain (including Egypt), 35 and 39 

 per cent; Germany, 9 and 12 per cent, 

 and Belgium, 9 and 16 per cent. Actu- 

 ated by political considerations and 

 stimulated by the spirit of commercial 

 expansion, the colonizing countries have 

 pursued their researches so efficiently 

 that today Africa is better known and 

 more accurately charted than are ex- 

 tended areas of Asia and South America. 



African explorations have been the 

 outcome of private enterprise for com- 



mercial exploitation, under the auspices 

 of geographic societies for the advance- 

 ment of scientific knowledge, and through 

 official parties for the development of the 

 country. Prolific in results have been 

 the labors of the many boundary com- 

 missions for deliminating the separate 

 regions under European control. In 

 Africa by wise prevision are prevented 

 the international disputes similar to those 

 which neglected boundaries have entailed 

 so often on the continents of America. 



FRENCH RESEARCHES 



The most striking results are those ac- 

 complished by the unequalled energy of 

 France in her steady advances towards 

 the assimilation and domination of the 

 northwestern half of the continent of 

 Africa. Their commissions have not 

 alone explored the unknown regions, but 

 they have thoroughly investigated the 

 commercial possibilities of the immense 

 territories under their control. Their 

 reports bear on the productivity of the 



