March 29, 2021
One of the consequences of the European conquest of most of southern Asia was an insatiable interest in the region's geography. European-made maps at the time were full of blank spots or, at best, rough guesses of the exact location and height of certain mountains and the sources and accurate courses of major rivers. Ambitious individuals in the academic world sought to make their reputations by answering important geographical questions.
By the late 1880s Great Britain had already taken over northern Burma and France had seized northern Vietnam and Laos. That put both countries' possessions on the border of Yunnan, at a time when Chinese central authority was in the throes of collapse. Both wanted to open Yunnan up to trade, so information on the province was at a premium. The only serious Western attempt so far to explore Yunnan was the French Mekong Expedition in 1868.