write briefly on the contribution of the german geographers towards the devlopment of modern geography
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Answer:
German’s contribution to the development of geography is enormous. In the 18th and 19th century, the Germans made great strides and put the subject on a sound footing. They gave it a philosophical and scientific base. In the post-Humboldt and Ritter period, a definite change in the role of universities occurred. During their lifetime, the major role of the universities was to train students in classical languages, theology, law and logic. It was in the middle of the 19th century when courses for various physical, biological and social sciences were standardized, and students were allowed to select their optional subjects.
In Germany, the first university was established in 1809, but there were very few universities till the end of the 19th century in which geography was taught. At the initial stage, the growth of geography was very slow, and the teachers of geography did not have a proper geography background. Most of the geography teachers were pupils of Carl Ritter, and even they were not sufficiently proficient in geography as they had backgrounds of other disciplines.
Some of them were trained in history, while others had the background of mathematics, biology, physical sciences, geology and engineering. It was during this period that a number of geographical societies were established. These societies published geographical literature and information about the earth. In the second part of the last century, geographers all over the world tried to define the subject.