鸦片战争前英人在香港水域的地图测绘及影响

British Mapping of Hong Kong before the Opium War

18世纪中叶以前,欧洲地图上已经展示出香港部分地区,主要集中在大屿山岛和担杆列岛。18世纪后期,英国东印度公司的水文专家达尔林普尔等人利用中国船民的地理知识,绘制出新的香港地图,首次展示出香港岛西部海岸以及部分岛屿。此后英国东印度公司和孟买海军组织人力物力对这一地区进行了多次调查与测绘,将中国船民的地理知识与西方先进测量技术和绘图理论相结合,不断改进地图中的缺失,体现了中西地理知识的融合。随着测绘成果的推广应用,英人认识到香港优越的地理位置,由此将这里发展成为鸦片走私的巢穴,并成为蓄谋吞并的目标。

Before the middle of the 18th century, European maps had shown parts of Hong Kong, mainly Lantao and Lema islands. In the late 18th century, East India Company hydrographer Alexander Dalrymple used the geographical knowledge of Chinese boat people to draw a new map, for the first time portraying the west coast of Hong Kong and some islands. Later, the East India Compa- ny and Bombay Marine organized several expeditions to the region to carry out surveys, combining the geographical knowledge of Chinese boat people with western measurement technology to improve map quality, embodying the fusion of Chinese and Western geographical knowledge. With the popularization and increasing use of maps, the British realized the superior location of Hong Kong, so they made the place a nest of opium smugglers and the target of occupation plans.