Q. Name of project
Atlas historique informatisé de la France. It is a part of the project PAGI ("Population Ancienne et Généalogies Informatisées" ; old populations and computerised genealogies) on the study of mobility of populations.
Q. Name of project IN ENGLISH
French computerised historical atlas which is a part of the project PAGI.
Q. Principal researcher(s)
Jean-Pierre Pélissier (INRA)
Danièle Rébaudo (CNRS)
Q. Who can/should be contacted now, and how?
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Name: |
Jean-Pierre Pélissier; Director of research |
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Postal Address: |
Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique (INRA), 63 Boulevard de Brandebourg 94200 Ivry-sur-Seine FRANCE |
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E-mail Address: |
pelissie@ivry.inra.fr |
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Web site: |
no specific site |
Q. When did research begin?
We started, 6 months ago, to collecte information and see how such project is feasible. Discussions with researchers from geographic laboratory of "Ecole Normale Supérieure" (ENS) in Paris, in particular in a cartographic seminary working each 15 days since 2 years is used to discuss the project.
Q. Is the project still in existence? If it has ended, when did it end? If it still exists, when is it expected to end?
We want to finish in 2 or 3 years. But it depends of money we could obtain.
Q. What institution(s) was the project based in?
For the moment "Institut National de la Recherche Agronomique". (INRA)
Q. How many people were/are employed, and for how long? Were these people recruited specially for the project, or were they already employed by the institution(s)?
For the moment 3 peoples (partial times) were working on this project. Two were paid by INRA and one by CNRS. All were public researchers already employed by their own institution.
Q. How much did the project cost?
No precise estimation today. But a first estimation gives 600 000 F (around 100 000 Euro) not taking into account salaries of the 3 peoples still working on the project and computers still used. The books published by CNRS ("Parishes and communes in France") were all obtained and partially computerised.
Q. Who paid for the project?
For the moment INRA, but we try to found other possibilities mainly to paid peoples for computerised data.
Q. If the project is still underway, has all necessary funding to complete the project been raised?
It is the main problem to go to the end of the project and to go with a normal speed.
Q. How easy has it been to raise the money?
For the moment we could have only salaries of the 3 peoples involved in the project and free access to computer (PC, and Unix station). But we have to found money for all other things. Research institution does not seem to be interested to pay more for this project. The CNRS periodically thinks to stop the publication of collection "Parishes and communes in France" because it is too expensive. For INRA, history is not a priority subject.
Q. Other than raising the money, what are the biggest problems your project has faced?
- To employ other peoples to computerised paper data is nearly only a problem of money. But with administrative rules we could only pay people specially recruited during 3 months during a year.
- Technical problems were the choice between to use GIS or to make classical atlas alone.
- The actual computerised French map could not be diffused. We have to see how to make our own map to have free possibility to diffuse it.
Q. Have there been any pleasant surprises in the course of the project?
The best pleasant surprise was to have seen that other researchers in others countries were interested by such a project, because in France, all peoples contacted were founding the project too big or out of their interest. They were only interested by the results but not to participate such a big project.
Q. How likely is it that further funding might be raised within your country for a collaborative European project?
For the moment two possibilities to found money will be tested. The first one is with the "Culture Ministry" (I try to have the help of National Archives). The other is to found sponsors. But if the collaborative European project is a good thing, I know that the first question will be : Have you obtain founds from Europe Community for your project? If not, I think it will be more difficult to obtain money from them.
Q. What geographical area is covered by the project? What is the MODERN legal status of this area? (i.e. is it a nation state, a province of a nation state, etc). If the area currently lacks a legal definition, when was it defined and by whom?
Metropolitan France (without oversee department or territories like Guadeloupe, ...). It is a nation state.
Q. Does the project aim to: (a) Reconstruct boundaries at a single date; (b) Reconstruct boundaries at a series of dates; (c) Construct a continuous record of changing boundaries over a period?
The aim is to construct a continuous record of changing boundaries from 1789 (before Revolution to have "Old Regime" administration) to 2000. We want to have a thesaurus of all changes (with dates) and the corresponding maps. Probably we started by a classical atlas with maps at a series of dates to show that the project is feasible. Probably we take 1789 (before Revolution), 1790 new administration, 1801 (complete modification of the "cantons" and "arrondissements"), 1943 (limit of the first authority list of INSEE) and 2000 (now). At the end we went to try to put such maps on the web.
Q. What is the earliest date covered by the project?
For the moment we choice 1788 to have "Old Regime" maps. But if we find data concerning preceding periods, we keep them in the thesaurus.
Q. What is the latest date covered by the project?
For the moment 1999 is the last date of the authority list.
Q. What systems of units are included?
For modern period, we have "communes", "cantons", "arrondissements" (or "districts" in 1790), "department". "Regions" which could be shown. We probably add other units as "small agricultural regions" which is a modern division related to agricultural activity.
For "Old Regime" (before 1789) we want to have : "généralités" (or "intendances"), "subdélégations", "élections", "grenier à sel", "parlement, "bailliages" and for church : "diocèse", "archidiaconné"; "doyenné". These names were more used in north of France. We used similar units in the south of France.
Q. What is the project's final product?
We are interested by GIS, but, for the moment we have no access to this technical. This could be useful in particular to add rivers to have more readable maps.
Q. What other publications has your project produced? In particular, please give details of any publications on methodology, and any publications in other languages?
This project has been started to identify places names found in vital registers. We want to use these data to study geographical mobility of population. We want to study "pagi" of the past from marriage registers data. The determination of "social boarders" and the evolution of them during time is the origin of the project. To do this study, we have made a detour by building this project of atlas because the data useful for our study doesn't exist and we are obliged to build it.
Q. What base map is/was used to record the information? When was it created, and by whom? Is it published or in an archive? Answers here will depend on whether the end-product is on paper or electronic.
For the moment, we used a computer map which provides from a framework giving the communes at around the 1970 year. For the moment we used this map to test representation of boarders and its evolution. But this map could not be diffused. We have probably to numerate our own map.
Q. What scale was this base map on?
The data used to build this map were the Lambert's coordinates of the simplified polygonal representation of communes. Data were given with a precision around 100 to 200 meters.
Q. If the base map was not already in digital form and your project created a digital version, how was this done?
As the actual computerised map is protected by copyright and could not be diffused, we have probably to create our own digital map. Probably we have to scan map and transfer the picture to a vectorial version with Adobe Illustrator. After we have to translate the coordinates of each polygonal picture to Lambert's coordinates to have a picture which is independent from support choosen.
Q. If your project constructed a record of boundary CHANGES, what sources of information were used? How was this information gathered?
We have first to prepare the thesaurus of each commune and group of communes which form a upper administrative group. For each of them we have to create the polygonal image. We prepare a data base with all these polygonal structures and with the limit dates of validity of each one. With a such data base, changes at any date could be easily identify.
Q. What other maps besides the base map were used? When were they created, and by whom? What scale were they on? What boundaries did they show? How reliable are they?
The base map must be a map giving all the communes which have existed at a moment. All other maps were formed from groups of such communes. A simple C language program could give directly the limits of each group of such base communes to constitute any administrative group such as "cantons", ...
Preparing a data base of polygonal limits of communes gives immediately the possibility to have also the data of all groups of communes.
Q. Did your project make any use of DESCRIPTIONS of boundaries? Who created these? Where are they preserved? What problems did you have converting this information into lines on maps?
No.
The questions here must depend on the form of the end product:
Q. Please give full publication details (author(s), title, place of publication, date of publication).
For the moment it is only a project.
Q. What software was used?
We used a French free software which could permit to create maps and to make statistical analysis of geographic data. This software was developed on Mac (the first version, call Cabral, exist also on PC). The actual version philgeo, only for Mac is a free software which could be charged from http://perso.club-internet.fr/philgeo. It has been developed by a French researcher working on South America.
To prepare maps to be published we will transfer the maps on Adobe Illustrator.
For preparing boundaries of upper administrative level than communes we prepare our own software in C language.
Q. If your GIS was specially written for you, or heavily tailored for your project, who was responsible for programming? How can they be contacted?
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Q. What were your reasons for your choice of software? If you started again now, would you use the same software?
The aim of our project is to have the boundaries of communes, parishes and aggregates of them for upper administrative geographical zones. A GIS could give more possibility to add other data. But, they were expensive and to used them it is necessary to have formation. As we want to have only boundaries it is not necessary to have a so sophisticate software. The free software we used, coupled with Illustrator, seems enough for our project. But to have a portability of our data, we keep each surface in a text file with the summits of the polygons.
For the moment, the biggest problem is not the software, but to collect all the data about boundaries and their changes.
Q. Describe the data files making up the final system: Are they a standard GIS file format? If not, where can detailed documentation be found?
The files were tables of 8 column giving the identification of the polygon, X and Y coordinates and the rank of the summit, the rank of piece (for geographical zone in multiple piece) , a number for the version of the boundaries (for changing during times) and the limits dates of validity.
Changing of boundaries could be show by using two superposed maps in different colour.
Q. What map projection is used?
We use Lambert projection.
Q. Assess the overall accuracy of your digital mapping.
We choose a simplification of the limits of communes or parishes with a polygonal representation. The aim of the project is to have maps useful at different period and on which we could show information. In this condition, to know the exact limits of a geographical zone is the principal aim of the project. If a geographical zone is too small, it could be interesting to enlarge (a little) to obtain a visible zone on the map. We try to show phenomena during time, not to have a map as exact as possible.
Q. From your existing experience, what methodological recommendations do you have for a larger collaborative project?
As historical maps concern often different countries, because of the modification of boundaries during time, I have no recommendation to do but two questions.
- How to have maps which could be adjust from one researcher to another? This is the problems of software and projection system used. As to archive computerised data, it is necessary to have a system which is independent of the software.
- How to exchange data about geographical zones when data could be found in different countries.
Q. If the end-product is neither a traditional publication or a GIS, please describe it?
One of the end-product is a data base giving the limits of each administrative zone at the different periods.
Others were vectorised maps in Illustrator Adobe, which is relatively a standard format.
Some data bases which give the data about the geographical zones. Censuses were probably the first to obtain for the modern period.
Q. Whatever the resource your project has actually created, and in the light of your experience with the project, what form of output SHOULD a new project have?
I think that a new project must have different aims:
Q. What place-names are built-in to your mapping? Is each point/area (node/polygon) labelled with a single name, or is there some system for linking to different versions of names?
Each geographical zone is identified by a system which permits to have link the different names, but also different geographical zones for the same name (if a commune is absorbed by another without changing name). This identification is the same between the polygon and the node.
Q. Does the history/linguistic geography of your area raise special problems with naming places?
Yes, in some parts of France we have names in different languages (Brittany, Catalan), but also in history documents we could find names in other languages as Latin. In our system of identification we have included such identification possibility.
Q. Have you any plans to make the place-name information gathered by your project available in any other form?
Yes. Each geographical zone has its own identification (derived from the number used for authority list) and we have a table giving correspondences between names and identification. At present time, each commune could be identified by 5 numeric digits : 41018 is Blois. 41 gives the department and 018 the commune in this department.
We used a system at three levels : A-B-C where A is the identification of a group of communes (department, but also "canton", "généralité", ...). B is a number to identify the polygon (or the node) in this group of places. C could be used to identify places insides the polygon or different names. For Blois, this gives 41-018-001. But Blois is also the name of an "arrondissement" identify by 620-411-001 ("arrondissement" = 620; and Blois is the first "arrondissement" of the 41 = 411). The C part is used to identify changing names : the actual commune of Couture-sur-Loir (41070 in authority list) is 41-070-001, but its old name (used before 1918) is Couture : 41-080-002. The old commune of La Gahandière (disappeared in 1791) is 41-056-100 and is now a part of the 41-056-001 La Colombe.
In the index we add a letter explaining the history of the name : A actual (41-018-001 Blois), C changing name (41-070-002 Couture), F fusion with another commune (41-056-100 La Gahandière absorbed by 41-056-001 La Colombe), ... We could used also L for name in another language, ...
Q. What sources have you used to research place- and area-names for use in your system?
The first source is the actual authority list. Then we have used the publication of CNRS "Parishes and communes in France". And after all documents we could found. This part of the project is not finished. It is the most important, and the most time consuming.
Q. Are there any quite separate projects concerned with the history of place names or of administrative hierarchies in your area? If so, please give details? Are they using computers? Are they aiming to make their results available on-line?
Other administrations have also developed list of place names. They were not generally concerned by history of place names. The post administration has its own system to identify place in the communes. The "Institut National Géographique" has also a data base with the name plots on their maps. But this data base is very expensive (around 5000 F some years ago for each department) and could not be used for publication.
Q. Was the GIS/digital resource constructed for use by its creators ONLY, or was it intended for wider use?
The actual map we used could not be used by other peoples. It is for this reason that we think to develop our own computerised map.
Q. Are you willing to make it available for use by others?
Yes.
Q. Are you willing to make it available for free, or for distribution costs only? If not, what plans have you for commercial distribution?
For the moment the aim of the project is to make maps available for free.
Q. Is the resource available NOW? If so, how and from where?
No because the computerised map used for test could not be diffused. We have to make our own map.
Q. Are there any limitations on access?
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Q. What file format or file formats is the resource available in?
For the moment we have to choose between text files or more probably vectorised maps in Illustrator form.
Q. If the resource is available from the researcher/project that created it, what plans are there for distribution after the project ends/the researcher retires?
It is an administrative problem not yet solved. But a web site is probably a good solution.
Q. What plans are there for updating the data files for use with more recent versions of software?
To could used more recent versions of software, or future software (with format not yet known) we have developed data base with the summit of polygons of all geographical zones.
Q. What plans are there for updating the data files to include the results of more recent historical research?
Using the data base of polygons seems a simple solution.
Q. Do you own all intellectual property rights in the resource created by your project? If not, what other rights exist, and who do they belong to? What limitations have they imposed?
To have all intellectual property we have to develop our own map.
Q. How have Intellectual Property Rights issues limited your project?
The limit is the actual reference map used.
© Jean-Pierre Pelissier (Ivry, May 2000)