Ensayo politico sobre la Isla de Cuba (review)

Ensayo político sobre la Isla de Cuba: Alejandro de Humboldt. Introduced and edited by MIGUEL ANGEL PUIG-SAMPER, CONSUELO NARANJO OROVIO, and ARMANDO GARCIA GONZALEZ. Aranjuez and Valladolid: Ediciones Doce Calles and the Junta de Castilla y Leon, 1998. Plates. Tables. Maps. Notes. Appendixes. Indexes. 457 pp. Cloth.

This is a spectacular edition of the well-known description of Cuba by the enlightened sage, Alexander von Humboldt, produced on the bicentennial of the German's meeting with Charles IV at Aranjuez, where he secured the authorization to undertake his voyage to America. One of the outstanding scientists of the eighteenth century and a model of the universal man that graced the era, Humboldt left behind a poignant account of life in Spain's dynamic island colony. Attracting widespread interest over the years, the ensayo político has undergone several editions but none more elaborate than this effort.

Humboldt's travels spanned five years and included two visits to Cuba, the first for three months bridging 1800-1, the second for one and one half months during his return to Europe in 1804. Humboldt's perceptive description of Cuba's geography, its dynamic economy, and its repressive society has stood the test of time. His status, both socially and intellectually, opened many doors for him, especially within the materially progressive sugarocracy. Little did this elite anticipate the blistering indictment of slavery that would issue from his pen and that would occasion the banishment of the 1827 translation of his essay from the island.

In preparing this document for publication, Puig-Samper, Naranjo Orovio, and García González crafted an 80-page introduction on Humboldt and his times, his experiences at court to secure permissions, and his visit to Cuba. Also addressing the Enlightenment reforms, and the economic and social developments in late-eighteenth-century Cuba, this excellent, informative contribution could well stand on its own. Significantly, the present edition preserves the ancillary information appended in the 1959 version assembled by Fernando Ortiz, including his notes as well as elaborations contributed by Francisco Arango y Parreno and John Thrasher during the nineteenth century. Also included in the text is Humboldt's account of his visit to Güines, Batabano, and Trinidad. His analysis of his map of the Cuba appears in the index.

This volume has been luxuriously produced, abounding with colored plates featuring Humboldt and other luminaries, contemporary maps, plant illustrations, and lithographs depicting scenes from Cuba. The quality of the paper and its binding are first rate. The editors and publishers are to be congratulated on this magnificent work. No library on the eighteenth-century empire will be complete without it.

ALLAN J. KUETHE, Texas Tech University

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