Alexander von Humboldt in South America: From the Orinoco to the Amazon

A lex an d er v on H u m bold tnmlkjihgfedcbaZYXWVUTSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA in S ou th A m erica: F rom the O rin oco to the A m azon QPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA SO N JA K A R SE N E v ery g reat ad v an ce in scien ce h as issu ed from a n ew au d acity o f im ag in ation . John Dewey It was an auspicious period in history into which Alexander von Humboldt was born because it ". . . saw the demise of the monarchs of enlightenment: Frederick of Germany, Catherine of Russia, Maria Theresa of Austria and Charles III of Spain. It was the age of the 'great change,'"1 Friedrich Wilhelm Karl Heinrich Alexander, Baron von Humboldt was born in Berlin, then the capital of the kingdom of Prus­ sia on September 14, 1769, and died there on May 6, 1859. During his lifetime he explored vast expanses of Latin America, took part in the scientific life of Paris for almost a quarter of a century and also found time to go to the Urals and Siberia. In his later years he served as chamberlain at the royal court in Berlin. The German scientist was bound by no national barriers because he was a European in the best sense of the word. He was preeminently a child of the age of en­ lightenment and was equally at home in England, Spain, Italy, or Rus­ sia all of whose languages he spoke fluently. He studied geology, physics, mathematics, and astronomy at the universities of Frankfurt on the Oder, Gottingen, and the School of Mines in Freiberg in Saxony.2 While at Gottingen he became the friend of Joh. Georg Adam For­ ster, one of Captain Cook's companions on his second voyage around the world. It was Forster who was largely responsible for Humboldt's 295 296 / KARSEN desire to travel and who awakened his interest in exploring the yet little known parts of the globe. In 1798 the scientist went to Paris, at a time when the revolution of 1789 had spent itself and produced Napoleon Bonaparte who had de­ feated the Italians and the Austrians and was preparing for the con­ quest of Egypt. For Humboldt it was an exciting time to be in Paris where all the famous scientists of Europe were gathered, among them Cuvier, Jussieu, Laplace, and Fourcroy. During his stay in the French capital he was invited by Lord Bristol to participate in an expedition to Egypt. However, the English nobleman never reached Egypt, as he was arrested in Milan on order from Napoleon, suspected of being an agent of the British government. Humboldt then was invited for a second time to become the mem­ ber of a scientific expedition around the world sponsored by the French government and to be led by Captain Baudin. This trip too was a disappointment since the voyage was postponed indefinitely on orders from Napoleon. Also chosen for the expedition was Aime Bonpland, a French physician turned botanist. The two scientists be­ came fast friends and decided to undertake an expedition of their own to Egypt. However, the political situation at the time prevented them from ever reaching their destination, and so they changed their plans again and went to Spain instead. There, the idea of exploring the Americas was suggested to them by Baron von Forell, a friend of the Humboldt family and the court of Saxony's ambassador in Madrid. This fortuitous encounter changed the scientist's destiny forever and in March 1799 Humboldt was presented to the Spanish court at Aranjuez . He explained to King Charles IV "the motives which led [him] to undertake a voyage to the New World. . . ; and [he] presented a mem­ oir on the subject to the secretary of state." Don Mariano Luis de Urquijo "supported [his] demand, and overcame every obstacle."3 Humboldt was issued two passports, one by the secretary of state, the other by the Council of the Indies. In order to allay all fears that the viceroys or captains-general might have regarding the purpose of his trip the passport issued by the TSRQPONMLKJIHGFEDCBA p rim era secretaria d...