How a mistranslation and a mad scientist built a Martian empire
In short: The world of Barsoom was born from a linguistic error and 19th-century astronomical myths. Edgar Rice Burroughs transformed a mistranslated word for 'channels' into a sprawling science fantasy of dying cities, artificial atmosphere plants, and a hero who literally never ages.
The geography of Barsoom is rooted in the 'canali'—lines on Mars observed by Giovanni Schiaparelli in 1877. While Schiaparelli intended the term to mean 'channels,' it was mistranslated as 'canals.' This error fueled the theory by Percival Lowell that an intelligent race had engineered massive waterworks. Burroughs adopted this myth, depicting a planet where seas had dried up, leaving only the Great Toonolian Marshes and the Lost Sea of Korus, with inhabitants fighting over scarce water distributed through a global canal system.
Burroughs’ world-building extended into linguistic and biological engineering. He created 'Barsoomian,' a constructed language that added verisimilitude to his narratives. The name 'Barsoom' itself is a linguistic construct: 'soom' for the planet and 'bar' for eight, reflecting the planet's position in the inner solar system when counting the Sun and satellites as celestial bodies. The setting is a 'planetary romance,' blending sword-and-sorcery tropes—like monsters and telepathic abilities—with scientific elements like 'atmosphere plants' and brain-transplant techniques developed by the mad scientist Ras Thavas.
The series also features a unique narrative conceit: the 'avuncular' framing device. Starting with 'A Princess of Mars' (1917), Burroughs presented the stories as factual accounts passed down to him by his 'great-uncle,' John Carter. This Confederate veteran, who appeared to never age and had no memory before 30, served as the primary lens for the reader. This technique allowed Burroughs to blend historical fiction with high fantasy, creating a sense of inherited truth that defined early 20th-century science fiction.
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- Summary by Intellect · source: Barsoom
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