Democratic Republic of the Congo

Rene Cambier

The General Atlas of the Belgian Congo, presented by René Cambier on behalf of the Royal Belgian Colonial Institute, is the work of a commission within the Institute. Upon completion, it will comprise 60 to 70 plates covering all aspects of Belgium's colonial domain, each accompanied by explanatory notes in French and Flemish, the country's two national languages. The plates are organized under seven rubrics: History, Geodesy, Physical Environment, Biogeography, Anthropological and Cultural Sciences, Administrative and Social Policy, and Economy. The atlas opens with an introduction featuring a 1:3,000,000-scale map of the Congo with an alphabetical index of localities, while all other maps are at 1:1,000,000 scale, supplemented by larger-scale insets where needed. Currently, three maps are completed: the phytogeographic map by W. Robyns, the exploration routes map by René Cambier, and the national parks and nature reserves map by W. Robyns. It is expected that 8 to 10 plates will be produced annually, ensuring the atlas—a veritable encyclopedia of current knowledge on the Belgian Congo and Ruanda-Urundi—is finished in a relatively short time. Given the continuous advancement of knowledge, future editions are planned, justifying the limited first print run of 1,000 copies.

Malcolm E. Bondy

This article describes five newly acquired folios of the bilingual French-Flemish Atlas Général Du Congo Et Du Ruanda-Urundi (Algemene Atlas Van Congo En Van Ruanda-Urundi), published by the Institut Royal Colonial Belge in Brussels in 1948, now held in the Map Division of the Library of Congress. The atlas, when complete, will comprise seven sections—History, Geodesy, Physical World, Biogeography, Anthropology and Social Sciences, Politics and Government, and Economics—each subdivided into folios. The acquired folios include an introductory volume featuring a 1:3,000,000 map and a 23-page gazetteer, as well as sections on biogeography, history, and political administration, covering vegetation zones, national parks and forest reserves, explorer routes, and administrative subdivisions since 1888. The article notes that additional folios on ethnology, language, population density, transportation, hydrography, boundaries, telecommunications, and economy are in preparation, and recommends René de Rouck's 1947 atlas as a supplementary resource in the reading room.

Walter W. Ristow

This review examines sixteen regional atlases published over a decade up to 1950, representing eleven countries. It begins by referencing Wright and Platt's classification of atlases into four types—general world, topical world, general regional, and topical regional—noting that the latter two serve as specialized tools for scholars. The author then critiques each atlas by country, covering French topical atlases on wine, textiles, peat bogs, and hydroelectric power; general regional atlases from Denmark, Austria, Germany, Hungary, Portugal, Belgium, Tanganyika, India, and Australia; and a rainfall atlas from Brazil. The review focuses on content organization, cartographic techniques, compilation backgrounds, and scholarly value, with particular praise for the collaborative model and cartographic excellence of the Atlas of Denmark. The article aims to provide geographers with a systematic overview and evaluation of these regional atlases for academic reference.

G. H.

This review examines five thematic maps and their accompanying notes from the Atlas général du Congo, published in 1951-53. The maps cover population density, tsetse fly distribution, anti-slavery campaigns, plant production, and border changes. The reviewer describes the basis, content, and scholarly value of each map, while pointing out specific shortcomings, including inaccuracies in population statistics, the need for further exploration of tsetse fly zones, imprecise details in the plant production map (such as underestimated palm grove areas and omitted processing facilities), and the absence of the important place name Panta from the border map.

A.E. Meeussen

This is an academic review of the language map (No. 522) in the General Atlas of the Congo, compiled by Prof. G. Van Bulck and published by the Royal Belgian Colonial Institute in 1954. The reviewer, A.E. Meeussen, first acknowledges the map's success in presenting recent scholarly views, particularly the justified priority of linguistic over ethnic criteria, the avoidance of excessive dialectal detail, and the emerging consensus in the spelling of language names. The review then points out specific problems: some classifications (e.g., the Megye group, Kaonde) do not align with recent comparative linguistic findings; certain dialects (e.g., Lionje, Ikongo-Lokalo) are omitted; some linguistic units are improperly split for irrelevant ethnic reasons; and some names (e.g., Ndengese, Bangubangu) deviate from established usage. The review also criticizes the omission of several important recent publications from the bibliography. Finally, it concludes that the map is beautifully executed, with colors, lines, and typography conveying a sense of calm and balance.

H. Arnhold

This article is a collection of book reviews for issues 28–31 of the journal *Kartographio*, covering several recent works in cartography and geographic information science. Each review examines the research themes, methodological contributions, and academic significance of the respective books, with particular attention to map visualization techniques, spatial data representation, cartographic history, and advances in GIS applications. The reviews highlight that these works vary in theoretical depth and practical guidance, collectively reflecting the diverse trends in contemporary cartographic research and offering valuable reference resources for scholars in related fields.

Ena L. Yonge

This article provides a comprehensive review of national atlases published worldwide up to the time of writing. It notes that since the Geographical Review first coined the term 'Age of National Atlases' in 1940, the surge of nationalism after World War II has greatly accelerated the production and scope of such atlases. The author surveys 26 published national atlases and 3 in preparation. The article first emphasizes that a national atlas aims to portray all aspects of a country—physical, economic, and social—and highlights a welcome trend: the inclusion of map titles, legends, and text summaries in English or French for atlases published in less familiar languages. The review is then organized by region. For Europe, it details atlases from Austria (Atlas von Niederösterreich), Belgium (Atlas de Belgique), France (revised Atlas de France), and Germany (Deutscher Planungsatlas, specifically Atlas von Berlin), among others, discussing their institutional backing, content structure, scales, cartographic techniques, and unique features, such as Berlin's depiction of wartime damage and postwar development, and Belgium's detailed demographic and agricultural maps. Atlases from Czechoslovakia, Denmark, Finland, Italy, and Norway are also mentioned. For Africa, the planned Atlas du Maroc is described. For Oceania, the Atlas of Australian Resources is reviewed, highlighting its origin in post-war resource assessment, its effective use of a large scale, and its focus on water resources and population distribution. For North America, the article reports on the progress of a Canadian national atlas and the initiation of the National Atlas of the United States, a collaborative federal effort to compile standardized thematic maps from various government agencies. The article concludes that these national atlases represent significant achievements in geographic and cartographic scholarship, serving as invaluable resources for students, planners, and businesses.

G. H.

This article reviews J. H. Pirenne's "Electoral Map of Congo 1961." The author argues that cartographically representing the May 1960 elections in Congo is a true challenge, given the plethora of parties, making their depiction on a map extremely difficult. While the map highlights parties that secured the most seats, it fails to reflect the multiplicity of parties in any way. The review points out that the map treats certain parties (such as PUNA and UNIMO) inconsistently, despite both being purely local and ethnic in nature. This inconsistency undermines the map's aim to draw general conclusions about the extreme territorial division of parties and the localized influence of their leaders.

Ena L. Yonge

This article provides a systematic summary review of approximately one hundred regional atlases from around the world, organized primarily by continent (or other large region) and then alphabetically by country within each group. The author begins by noting that the ever-increasing flood of atlases—national, regional, topical, and special—makes individual reviews impossible, thus necessitating summary evaluations to acknowledge important publications while respecting space constraints. The review covers representative works from Europe, Asia, Africa, Oceania, North America, and South America, encompassing road atlases, historical-geographical atlases, national atlases, climatic atlases, economic atlases, and school atlases. Each atlas is assessed in terms of its compiling institution, editors, scales, number of plates, content structure, cartographic techniques, printing quality, and scholarly value, with notable features and shortcomings highlighted. For instance, the European section evaluates works such as the Euroatlas, Atlas östliches Mitteleuropa, Atlas von Niederösterreich, Atlas de Belgique, Climatic Atlas of Czechoslovakia, Atlas of Denmark, and Atlas of Finland, while the American section covers state atlases from Kansas, Kentucky, Minnesota, Missouri, Montana, New York, Ohio, and West Virginia, as well as national atlases from Brazil, Colombia, and Venezuela. The article emphasizes that these atlases not only reflect the research standards of geography and cartography in their respective countries but also serve as vital references for regional planning, economic development, historical research, and education. The author concludes by acknowledging that no single individual can possess sufficient expertise across all aspects of geography, cartography, and linguistics to render definitive critical judgments, yet such summaries offer valuable guidance to scholars, with a forthcoming review of world atlases and special atlases announced.

T. E. Hilton

The Population of the Congo - General Atlas of the Congo: Maps of population density and location in the Équateur Province. By P. Gourou. Royal Academy of Overseas Sciences, Brussels, 1960. Pp. 26, 3 maps. Frs. 750. - Volume 3 Issue 1