Maupertuis:
“In the Desarts of a Country scarcely habitable, in that immense Forest which extends from Torneå to Cape Nord, we must go through Operations that are not easy even where no Convenience is wanting.”
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis, The Figure of the Earth (1738)
History
History of science, portraits of French scientists and stories of life in the Torne Valley in 1730s
The expedition on the map
Réginald Outhier has written a detailed description of the expedition’s journey from Paris to Tornio and back. The journey took two months each way and was made by boat and wagon.
Pierre Louis Moreau de Maupertuis
The leader of the expedition was an ambitious mathematician and academician. The journey to the far North had a significant impact on his career and identity.
Other members of the expedition
In addition to Maupertuis, the expedition of the French Académie des sciences included seven academic members, one of whom was the Swedish astronomer Anders Celsius.
History
of science
The mission of the expedition was to measure the degree of the meridian arc at the Arctic Circle. Degree measurement required knowledge of astronomy and land surveying.
Life in the Torne
Valley
In Midsummer 1736, a French expedition arrived in Tornio, the northernmost town in Europe. The Torne was the main route to Lapland and the lifeblood of settlements in the area.
Portraits from the Torne Valley
The help of many local people was essential to the success of the expedition. In addition to local knowledge, the expedition needed physical strength to carry instruments and build markers.