In the Trace of “Man and Nature”: The impact of George Perkins Marsh’s Ottoman Observations on his environmentalist ideas

Yıl 2025, Sayı: 55, 191 - 211, 30.05.2025

Yilmaz Arı

https://doi.org/10.32003/igge.1628882

Öz

The book titled Man and Nature was first published in 1864 by George Perkins Marsh, who was the US minister resident to the Ottoman Empire in Istanbul between 1850 and 1853. Man and Nature is a masterpiece that represents both the beginning of modern geographical thought and the birth of nature conservation and environmental movements. The basic thesis of the book was that human activities were rapidly turning the world into an uninhabitable place and that urgent measures needed to be taken to reverse this. In this context, the aim of this article is to examine Marsh’s Ottoman travels and to question the contributions of life in Türkiye to this book. The document analysis method was employed in the study. The first edition of Man and Nature and Caroline Marsh's 1888 book on her husband's life and letters were the primary sources examined. It was recognized that a substantial portion of Man and Nature was derived from the notes Marsh made while living in Türkiye.

Anahtar Kelimeler

George Perkins Marsh , History of Geography , Landscape Change , Anthropocene , Nature Conservation , Human Impact

“İnsan ve Doğa”nın izinde: George Perkins Marsh’ın Osmanlı gözlemlerinin çevreci fikirlerine etkisi

Öz

İnsan ve Doğa başlıklı kitap 1850-1853 yılları arasında ABD’nin İstanbul’da yerleşik Osmanlı elçiliğini yapmış olan George Perkins Marsh tarafından ilk kez 1864 yılında yayımlanmıştır. İnsan ve Doğa hem modern coğrafi düşüncenin başlangıcını hem de doğa koruma ve çevreciliğin doğuşunu temsil eden bir başyapıttır. Kitabın temel tezi insan faaliyetlerinin dünyayı hızla yaşanmaz bir yer haline getirmekte olduğu ve bunu tersine çevirmek için acilen tedbirler alınması gerektiği düşüncesiydi. Marsh’ın İstanbul’da yaşamış olmasının kitabın yazımına ne gibi katkılar yaptığına odaklanan bir çalışma henüz yoktur. Bu kapsamda bu yazının amacı George Perkins Marsh’ın Osmanlı seyahatleri ve gözlemlerini inceleyerek bu kitaba olan katkılarını ortaya koymaktır. Marsh, çevrenin tahrip edilmesinin toplumu uzun dönemde nasıl etkilediğinin çarpıcı örneklerini Türkiye’de görmüş ve böyle bir kitap yazma fikri de Türkiye’de oluşmuştur. Çalışmada doküman analizi yöntemi kullanılmıştır. Analiz edilen temel dokümanlar İnsan ve Doğa’nın ilk baskısı ile Caroline Marsh’ın 1888 yılında yayımladığı ve eşinin hayatı ve mektuplarını konu alan kitaptır. İnsan ve Doğa’nın büyük ölçüde Marsh’ın Türkiye’deki yaşamı boyunca aldığı notlar üzerine kurulu olduğu anlaşılmıştır.

Anahtar Kelimeler

George Perkins Marsh , Coğrafya Tarihi , Peyzajın Değişimi , Antroposen , Doğa Koruma , İnsan Etkisi

Kaynakça

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