La campagne en Asie orientale de Jean Barthe, chirurgien naval, météorologue et naturaliste (1855-1857)
Beillevaire, P.; Demarée, G.R.; Mikami, T. (2018). La campagne en Asie orientale de Jean Barthe, chirurgien naval, météorologue et naturaliste (1855-1857). Meded. Zitt. K. Acad. Overzeese Wet. = Bull. Séances Acad. r. sci. O.-m. 64(1): 105-144. https://dx.doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.3980754 In: Mededelingen der Zittingen van de Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen = Bulletin des Séances de l'Académie royale des Sciences d'Outre-Mer. Koninklijke Academie voor Overzeese Wetenschappen: Bruxelles. ISSN 0001-4176, more |
| Keywords | Biology > Zoology > Conchology
Earth sciences > Atmospheric sciences > Meteorology
Marine/Coastal | | Author keywords | Naval Medicine; Crimean War in East Asia; Sea of Japan |
| Authors | | Top | - Beillevaire, P.
- Demarée, G.R., more
- Mikami, T.
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| Abstract | As a physician-surgeon of the French navy, but also as a meteorologist and a naturalist, Jean Barthe (1814-1866) participated in the last operations carried out jointly in 1855 and 1856 by the British and French fleets against the Russian ships and defences on the Far-Eastern front of the Crimean War. Successively aboard the frigates La Virginie and La Sibylle, he notably visited Hakodate (south of Hokkaidō), only recently open to foreigners, Urup Island in the Kuriles, the Strait of Tartary and, south of Japan, Naha, on Okinawa Island, in the kingdom of Ryūkyū. These naval operations took place in a context of expansion of the Western powers in East Asia. As a consequence of the First Opium War, the British occupied Hong Kong, and China’s most important ports were then open to foreign ships. Although Korea remained secluded, Japan, in 1855, had already concluded treaties of amity with the United States, the United Kingdom and Russia. Jean Barthe’s scientific activities were not left totally ignored. Brief accounts had been published by the Académie des Sciences (Paris) shortly after his return to France. But it was not before the autumn of 2015 that the authors of the present paper managed to uncover Barthe’s original manuscripts from the archives of that institution. The main piece is a meteorological register which Barthe kept without interruption, as a sort of logbook, throughout his journey. It records meteorological data collected five times a day — now a very valuable source for climate historians —, atmospheric phenomena, ship positions, sailing and mooring conditions, the health status of the crew, descriptions of some places of call, of their flora and fauna. In the light of these manuscripts, supplemented by other sources, this paper reconsiders Barthe’s meteorological and geographical observations, his contributions to botany and zoology, and the concepts that guided his medical practice. While tracing his entire course, it focuses primarily on his journey through Japanese waters from Hakodate to Naha and north to Hokkaidō. |
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