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.
Looking for a river route to China, the expedition found that way blocked by the impassable Mekong Falls in southern Laos. The group continued anyway on foot and eventually entered Yunnan through Xishuangbanna. From Jinghong they carried on to Kunming and wanted to turn towards Dali and reach the Mekong River again west of Dali. But Yunnan was engulfed by a brutal civil war and the explorers coul