H. G. Porthan and the promotion of Finnish geography

Abstract

Henrik Gabriel Porthan (1739-1804), professor at the Turku Academy, is generally regarded as the "father of Finnish history", but it is shown here that he was also influential in the development of Finnish geography.

Porthan did a great deal of work in revising the chapter on Finland in Eric Tuneld's geography of Sweden. The most important consideration for him was the accuracy of the information given. He used large amounts of numerical data, considered the correct spellings of placenames and paid careful attention to ethnographic details. He was not interested in explaining the phenomena that he described, however. Taken as a whole, Porthan's contribution represents the first reliable general statement of the geography of Finland, and as such came up to the general European standard of his day.

Porthan assembled an extensive collection of maps, which he hoped would help to promote the publication of a set of general maps of Finland. He was also a distinguished educationalist with an interest in developing the teaching of geography. He was a supporter of the expanding circles theory, according to which teaching should set out from the pupils' home district and proceed in a stepwise manner to the native land, neighbouring countries and finally the whole world.