Anais da Academia Brasileira de Ciências (2005) 77(2): 325-342 (Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences) ISSN 0001-3765 www.scielo.br/aabc

Scientific findings of Alexander von Humboldt’s expedition into the Spanish-American Tropics (1799-1804) from a geographical point of view

GERD KOHLHEPP

Department of Economic and Social Geography, Center of Latin American Studies Institute of Geography, University of Tübingen, Hölderlinstrasse 12, D-72074 Tübingen, Germany

Manuscript received on April 16, 2004; accepted for publication on June 18, 2004; presented by Alcides N. Sial

ABSTRACT Alexander von Humboldt’s expedition from 1799 till 1804 to the “equinoctial regions of the new world” led through Venezuela, Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico. In Europe an increased knowledge of the “New World” was connected with the privately funded journey, which served purely scientific purposes and had nothing to do with the exploration and exploitation of natural resources. Besides the research results, which were based on new measuring methods and the quantitative ascertainment of scientific basics, the jour- ney also made possible detailed descriptions in matters of regional studies including social, socio-economic, political, and economic-geographic circumstances, which were based on empirical field studies. The expe- dition took place shortly before the political change in Latin America. Humboldt, who still experienced the feudal character of global economy based on slave labor in the colonies, vehemently criticized this economic structure – although he was a noble – and its unbearable social conditions. This is the reason why Humboldt is still admired in Latin America till this day. In Europe the scientific insights of his journey to the tropics and his innovative impulses in geog raphy as well as in many other disciplines brought him fame and lasting recognition as a universal scholar, who had crucial influence on the development of the sciences during the first half of the 19th century. Key words: historical geography, regional studies, Latin America, Spanish colonies, Alexander von Hum- boldt.

INTRODUCTION Not only did this journey mark the transition from the earlier voyages of discovery to a new phase With his return to Europe on August 1, 1804 of expeditions focused on clearly and scientifically Alexander von Humboldt concluded his famous defined problems, it also conveyed a new view journey to the “equinoctial regions of the New of the “New World” to the European public. World.” Accompanied by his French friend Aimé In the center of Humboldt’s venture was not the Bonpland, a physician, botanist, and zoologist he state-funded conquest and exploration of natural visited places which are now regions of Venezuela, resources for the exploitation of a colony by its Cuba, Colombia, Ecuador, Peru, and Mexico from mother country. Humboldt’s journey was privately the years 1799 to 1804. funded and organized, and – without any secondary E-mail: [email protected] motives – it served both scientific basic research and

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also the detailed description of the countries in terms enrolled at the University of Frankfurt on the Oder of regional studies involving geological, physical- and studied the unloved fiscal accounting. Before geographic, historical, socio-economic, socio- and 1810 the Prussian capital Berlin did not yet have a economic-geographical as well as political, socio- university. He interrupted his university education logical, and anthropological facts. to pursue intense study in the field of botany as a The explorers broke new ground in science student of the well-known Willdenow. In 1789 on a with the help of their analytical proceedings on the field trip during his studies, which he subsequently basis of countless measurements and methods of resumed in Göttingen and at the Hamburg business quantifying observations and their use of modern in- academy, he became acquainted with Georg Forster, struments and the synthetic synopsis in the form of who strengthened his interest in the tropics. At his topographic maps, which were more accurate than father’s side Forster had taken part in James Cook’s anything known so far, as well as detailed landscape second circumnavigation of the globe (1772/1775). profiles of the places they visited. The comprehen- The journeys with Forster to Holland, England, and sive collection of thousands of species of plants did France in 1790 did not only train Humboldt’s ca- not only serve the discovery of new species itself, pacity of observation, but the trip to Paris also had a but, through the barometric ascertainment of alti- profound impact, as he was introduced to new ideas tude and differences in temperature, it also served of liberty brought about by the French Revolution. the creation of a three-dimensional view of the dif- In the same year the 21-year old submitted the first ferentiation of natural and cultural areas in tropical draft of his plant geography to Georg Forster. high mountain ranges. Humboldt gained intense geological-mineral- Unlike the mere natural scientists of the 18th ogical knowledge – including some experience in century Humboldt attached great importance to the the economic evaluation of deposits – in his quickly careful observation of anthropogenic factors as well proceeding career as a mining expert in the Prussian as to empirical field studies. In his scientific and civil service and also valuable experience from his methodological concept he was strongly influenced studies at the mining academy in Freiberg, Saxony by Immanuel Kant. In his work ‘‘Kritik der reinen (1791/1792) – a school where a couple of future im- Vernunft’’ in 1784 Kant assigned to the empirical portant geologists from the Spanish-American and sciences the ‘‘world of phenomena’’, which was Brazilian colonial territories had also studied. called ‘‘Kosmos’’ by Humboldt (Beck 1959/1961). As Beck has clearly shown in his comprehen- Detailed and unprejudiced interviews of all social sive studies on Alexander von Humboldt (Beck classes, an evaluation of all available documents, 1987/1997: cf. Humboldt 1987, 1989a, b, 1991, and the collection, systematic classification and in- 1992, 1993, 1997), in 1793 Humboldt already be- terpretation of important statistical data – also in gan to systematically prepare the journey to comparison with other regions – made for a higher the tropics of the New World. Although journeys level of quality in scientific reporting. were a part of the classical educational program of the elite in Europe, the journey to Italy and Switzer- DESTINATION: “EQUINOCTIAL REGIONS” land in 1795 by all means already possessed the OF THE NEW WORLD character of a research trip. There he did not only Without ever going into detail about it, Alexander transform already existing geological, physical- von Humboldt had secretly chosen the tropics as a geographic, plant-geographic, and astronomic destination for his journeys since his younger years. knowledge through observation and also through Accounts of expeditions and – thanks to the noble his contact with scientists from Geneva, but he also standing of the Prussian family – his handpicked tu- tested the most modern instruments and gained tors gave the first impetus. As had been arranged, he practical experience in the determination of loca-

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tion and altitude as well as in the drawing of ground ish government had never before trusted a foreigner profiles and maps. He also concerned himself with more than him. In comparison the expedition of the such geographic field studies in Spain while he was French Academy of Sciences in Ecuador and Peru waiting for his departure for the New World. led by La Condamine a few decades earlier suffered When, after their mother’s death, the brothers from military monitoring and travel restrictions. Alexander and Wilhelm von Humboldt could dis- Alexander von Humboldt knew that a continu- pose of a substantial fortune, Alexander’s expedi- ation of his journey from the Rio Orinoco into the tion plans were pursued with determination, and the Brazilian Amazon-river-system, which was claimed journey to the tropics was most carefully prepared. by Portugal, would be impossible. Portugal had Despite the best offers he quit his job in the civil guarded its colony Brazil against the Spanish territo- service and devoted himself entirely to science. ries. As the Portuguese feared Humboldt might be a ‘‘The West Indies,’’ according to Humboldt’s un- spy, the authorities in Rio de Janeiro, at the behest of derstanding one unit with the tropical Andes regions the King of Portugal, posted a reward for the arrest of northern South and Central America became the of Humboldt in case he entered Brazil. A few years designated destination: the ‘‘equinoctial regions of later, when Portugal’s ruling prince escaped from the new continent’’ (Humboldt 1814/1825), the re- the French occupation of Portugal under Napoleon gions of the tropical equinox. to Rio de Janeiro in 1808, an entirely different sit- In 1798 Humboldt initially concentrated his uation with opportunities for research would have journey preparations on Paris, reckoned as the sci- arisen for Humboldt in Brazil as well. The ex- entific center of the world. In Paris Humboldt, who peditions of Maximilian, prince of Wied-Neuwied had already established a network of scientific con- (1815/1817) as well as the expeditions, organized tacts all over Central Europe by means of visits and by von Spix and von Martius (1817/1820) and many extensive correspondence, met with the very best others in different regions of Brazil only a short time of the French natural sciences. While his plans to later, underlined this development. travel to Upper Egypt and to accompany Baudin on a circumnavigation of the globe came to nothing, he THE GEO-POLITICAL SITUATION IN EUROPE became acquainted with Bonpland in Paris. It was AND THE NEW WORLD AT THE TIME OF he who became Humboldt’s companion on his jour- ALEXANDER VON HUMBOLDT’S JOURNEY neys to the New World. Above all he attended to the Toward the end of the 18th century the age of en- botanic collections and the description of species. lightenment had brought about emancipation from Thanks to the diplomatic support of the Saxon political, religious, and social bonds, which dated envoy Forell the Prussian Calvinist Humboldt man- back to the Middle Ages, in Europe. The French aged to be received in audience by his majesty, the Revolution did not only radiate its ideals onto the Catholic King of Spain Charles IV. His scientific political situation but also onto the spiritual life in reputation and his Spanish language skills – proof Europe. The new ideal of liberty was contrasted of the early purposeful preparation for ‘‘The West with the heyday of the European colonial period, Indies’’ and the adjoining regions of the Spanish which in the New World, was already approaching colonial empire (Beck 1987/1997) allowed the court its end. The political power struggles in Europe be- to place confidence in Humboldt. Although foreign- came evident when Humboldt left La Coruña. On ers were not allowed to enter Spanish colonies, he June 5, 1799 the Spanish frigate narrowly escaped and Bonpland received passports and comprehen- a blockade set up by the English fleet. Europe was sive travel permits. This also included the support on the brink of the rise of Napoleon and the fall of of local authorities as well as the use of Spanish ves- Prussia. sels. Humboldt was aware of the fact that the Span- In the New World the United States of Amer-

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ica had already gained its autonomy in 1776. In ‘‘Libertador’’ of Spanish-America during the first Haiti the first great slave revolt of the 1790s suc- few decades of the 19th century, admitted that he, cessfully paved the way to independence in 1804. when he met Bolívar in Paris, did not think him ma- In the Ibero-American world, where the Spanish ture enough for the role of a leader of an indepen- colonial territories had shown themselves to be vul- dence movement. Bonpland, however, assessed his nerable with the temporary English occupation of abilities much better (Beck 1959/1961). Cuba, Trinidad, and Florida – in Southeast Asia also the Philippines – the spirit of liberty awoke. Trade THE CHALLENGE OF EXPLORING barriers between mother country and colonies fell. THE TROPICS AND THE KEY RESULTS OF Navigation, which had been limited to connections HUMBOLDT’S EXPEDITION between Sevilla, Cádiz and La Habana or Veracruz, The carefully prepared voyage to the West Indies, was opened to direct traffic with all larger Spanish- which he carried out in spite of numerous political American ports on the Atlantic side of South Amer- problems and obstacles in Europe, was ‘‘neverthe- ica (Buisson 1980). However, the military securing less an ingenious improvisation in its realization’’ of overseas territories and the reform of the admin- (Wilhelmy 1970). While the scientific objectives istrative organization remained a priority. After two were accomplished without any significant obsta- viceroyalties had existed with New-Spain (Mexico) cles the regional itinerary had to be adapted to the and Peru until the beginning of the 18th century, two respective circumstances again and again. In do- new viceroyalties were created in South America: ing so Humboldt exhibited a great deal of flexibil- New-Granada (1793) with Bogotá as its capital com- ity, pragmatic action, and diplomatic skills. While prising today’s states of Venezuela, Columbia, and the voyage was originally meant to take the scien- Ecuador and also the viceroyalty of Rio de la Plata tists to Cuba and Mexico, fever onboard the vessel (Argentina, Bolivia, Uruguay, Paraguay). bound for La Habana forced their first stop in the Humboldt’s expedition took place shortly be- Venezuelan Cumaná in July 1799. As for Hum- fore the political change in Latin America, which boldt the “laboratory of nature” was available ev- ended the colonial period – except for Cuba – during erywhere, the stop turned out to be a 16-month stay the first two decades of the 19th century. Humboldt in Venezuela, at its core an expedition into the in- still came to see the colonial global economy based terior lasting several months. Humboldt explored on slave labor. However, he vehemently criticized the Llanos and the tropical rainforests of the Rio this structure as a person who had internalized the Orinoco, he traveled on the long unclear connection ideas of the French Revolution. This is certainly to the river system of the Amazon, the bifurcation also a reason why Humboldt’s name enjoys special of the Rio Casiquiare, which leads to the Amazon- veneration in many parts of Ibero-America still tributary Rio Negro (see Fig. 1). today. In the center of the stay in Venezuela were the In 1804 Alexander von Humboldt had become trips in a North-South-profile and the scientific gath- acquainted with the 21-year old Simón Bolívar. He ering of facts concerning natural environment as was son to a rich Creole family from Caracas, who well as the economic-geographic situation and the enthusiastically discussed the necessary liberation geography of settlements. After the first trips into of the Spanish colonies in South America, also ex- the coastal mountain ranges and a visit to the mis- pected by Humboldt. In a letter to Bolívar from sions of the Chaimas-Indians, whose way of life and July 29, 1822 Humboldt mentioned the ‘‘era when customs – and those of other Indian tribal groups – we took vows for the liberty and independence of he studied in great detail, he attended to the cap- the New Continent’’ (Beck 1959). Some time later ital Caracas, its location, its climate as well as its Humboldt, who admired the great successes of the political relevance. In the Llanos Humboldt posed

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Fig. 1

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the central question of the genesis of the charac- ened, as there was a chance to take part in the long- teristic landscape determining its vegetation and a planned circumnavigation of the globe starting in possible agrarian use in the future (Otremba 1959). Callao in Peru with captain Baudin. Humboldt used Social issues are dealt with through the detailed ren- the journey from Cuba to go ashore in Cartagena to- dition of numerous informations. He succeeded in ward the end of March 1801 and explore the Andes the presentation of a zonal division into three sec- in today’s states of Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru for tors from the already settled and agriculturally used the following 20 months. When Baudin’s itinerary coastal regions including parts of the coastal moun- had changed, Humboldt traveled to Mexico, which tain ranges to the wet savannahs of the Llanos with he reached in Acapulco (see Fig. 1). As Baudin’s its pasture farming to the tropical rainforests south of itinerary was changed once again, and Humboldt the Orinoco, home to Indian hunter-gatherers. The had to give up his South Seas plans and a voyage evergreen innertropical forests were named ‘‘Hy- west to the Philippines and thus the idea of a jour- laea’’ (‘‘the wooded zone’’) in 1808 by Humboldt, ney round the world, Humboldt continued exploring who used the terminology of Herodotus. He de- in the Mexican highlands. His return journey to Eu- tected the biodiversity of tropical forests compared rope, where he wanted to concern himself with the with forests of the moderate zone, although he was composition and publication of his results as soon as deceived – just as many researchers later on – by the possible, brought a ‘‘detour’’ by way of the United existing biomass of the supposed fertility of tropical States of America, where he met with President forest soils. Jefferson in 1804. In the rainforests Humboldt came across mis- In this paper it is not possible to give a sions as border institutions at the outer periphery, comprehensive summary of the results of Alexander huge areas under the rule of religious orders, which von Humboldt’s five-year expedition to the tropics were critically questioned. Isolated forts, military – from which he returned at the age of almost 35. outposts, are meant to secure the borderline He himself considered the account of his journey between the spheres of influence of the two colo- his major achievement and favorite work. This ac- nial powers. The contrast between Spanish and Por- count of his journey goes far beyond the actual travel tuguese rule becomes quite evident. There was al- log ‘‘Relation historique’’ (Humboldt 1814/1825) most ‘‘national hatred’’ in the borderland, even the (see bibliography) and also comprises the ‘‘Geogra- ‘‘Spanish’’ and ‘‘Portuguese’’ Indians were blinded phie der Pflanzen’’ (Humboldt 1805/1807, 1807, by hatred for each other. In a so to speak empir- 1808a) with the nature painting, the profile table ical way the consequences of the chemism of the (tableau physique) of the Andes, the work on New- black and white water rivers is noticed as the un- Spain (Humboldt 1811a) and the respective associ- bearable mosquito plague suddenly ceased to tor- ated atlases (Humboldt 1811b, 1814a, b). Many ment the explorers at the black water rivers which basic observations are also recorded in essays in are poor in suspended particles. The acidity of the the ‘‘Ansichten der Natur’’ (Humboldt 1808b) and water there prevents the growth of mosquito larvae. later also in the ‘‘Kosmos’’ (1845/1862). The re- The accounts are again and again enriched with very sults of this expedition can also be found in many well informed comparisons. After his memorial ex- journals as well as in expert’s reports compiled for pedition, Vareschi (1959) strongly emphasized the officials in Mexico. Above all his essay ‘‘Essai performance of Humboldt and Bonpland. They ex- politique sur le royaume de la Nouvelle-Espagne’’ posed themselves to the strains of the river expedi- (1811) emerged from these reports. The account of tion without modern equipment, but achieved im- his American journey, whose third volume (1825, portant scientific results. published in 1831) contains the ‘‘Essai politique sur The subsequent stay in Cuba was notably short- l’île de Cuba’’ (see also Beck 1992), does not com-

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prise the research in Colombia, Ecuador, and Peru. relationship. Not in the sense of a natural deter- The results can only be found in essays, landscape minism but in the sense of correlations and the con- profiles, and itineraries (Faak 1986) or respectively currence in a synthetic view. “He was a genius in as hints and comparative observations in his other productive synthesis” (Plewe 1970). works. Unfortunately the fourth volume of the jour- While scientific geography was still in the pro- ney to the tropics was never published. Due to cess of formation, a decisive step had been made numerous duties as chamberlain at the court after toward substantiated regional studies. It ascribed his return to Berlin in 1827, Humboldt was very much importance to anthropogenic circumstances busy with the preparation of his Russian-Asian and – influenced by the French physiocrats – land journey and his start of lecturing (Humboldt use. To Humboldt the presentation of the human 1814/1825, 1997). living and economic conditions was so important, One example for the unlimited industriousness that he refused a second invitation of the Russian of the explorers is the fact that they collected 5,800 Czar to Russia and Siberia, because he was asked to species of plants. Until then 3,600 of them were still report only on the natural conditions and definitely unknown. Most of them were – especially by Bon- not about people (Plewe 1970). Humboldt replaced pland – identified and described during the journey. the traditional, descriptive, statistically numerating Within the scope of the plant-geographic and vol- facts about states and products with a thematic and canological studies both explorers believed to have regional issue based approach. He managed to shape reached the hitherto greatest altitude worldwide at a landscape synthesis from different isolated phe- the Chimborazo (6,267 m above sea level) with its nomena, and at the same time, scientifically sober 5,880 m (in reality, due to an error in measurement, objectiveness comes along with an aesthetic aspect. only about 5,400 m: Wilhelmy 1986) in June 1802. Humboldt focused his attention on the comparative Recent archaeological findings in the Andes have study of landscape types as well as the comparison shown that this was not the case. of regional geographical characteristics. Countless measurements to determine loca- Critics of Humboldt rightly pointed out, that he tions, for the exact barometric determination of air continuously mixed up esthetic and scientific points pressure und thus also the altitude above sea level, of view, as well textually as in the formal descrip- temperature, humidity, geomagnetism, air electric- tion (Plewe 1970). In the present research on Hum- ity, etc. were made, and many other geophysical, boldt, this lack of clarity led to discussions about and meteorological measured values were deter- the “correct” interpretation of Humboldt’s remarks. mined. Yet this revolutionary quantification and its According to the terminology of Romanticism he interpretation as well as the numerous topographic used terms like “Nature painting of the tropics”, specifications, as many non-geographers have mis- “Nature painting of the Chaimas Indians” or “Paint- takenly pointed to as his chief accomplishment in ings of special statistics”, tending in a stylistic tra- the field of geography, was not his central contribu- dition of “painting imagery” of landscape painting tion to the discipline. In fact the central issue was of the 18th century (Hard 1970). Hard (1969) em- the realization of the “interplay of forces” (1808: phasized that in the works of Humboldt “Landscape Ansichten der Natur) in space necessitating many is not a subject of research but an esthetic stimulus individual evaluations and precise analyses of these and a topic of literary description” (p. 153). Other forces. Humboldt was not only a natural scientist authors (Stevens 1959, Wilhelmy 1970, among oth- and the creator of physical geography (then: physic ers) however pointed out that Humboldt’s esthetic geography, resp. ‘‘physique du monde’’), but he concept of landscape is far less an expression of his may also take credit for the almost modern ecolog- subjective view, but a means of perfection of his ical approach of having explored the man-nature- landscape synthesis. Indisputably he combined sci-

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entific matter-of-factness with his emotional event- believed he could not find anything better in Europe ful view (Otremba 1959). either. The determinations of altitude and the astro- During his stay in Mexico, which lasted almost nomic determination of location as well as trigono- one year, Humboldt visited the most populous and metric measurements formed the basis for Hum- agriculturally most productive parts of the central boldt’s mapping of reality, but they were also the region of New-Spain, which had a total population means for a spatial comparison of certain natural of 5.8 million. His work on Mexico is – besides and human phenomena. His work on the altitu- the physical-geographic basics–averydetailed and dinal zonation of vegetation in the Andes – using differentiated geographic study in terms of popu- the innertropical Ecuador as example – was ground- lation, economy, and society. The descriptions of breaking. With his “tableau physique” he created the population, their racial differentiation and social a three-dimensional representation of climatic and classification as well as the little importance of slav- vegetation zones, habitat boundaries of the animal ery – in Mexico-City, unlike in La Habana, Caracas, world and the economic use in the shape of land- and Lima, he did not see any slaves in private house- scape profiles. In his work on Mexico (1811) he holds – belong to his best accounts. Humboldt saw for the first time used the terms – still valid today – the source of the viceroyalty’s wealth not only in the tierra caliente, tierra templada, and tierra fría for mines but also in agriculture. He drew a strict dis- the vertical differentiation of climatic and vegeta- tinction between the manifold production of food in tion zones as well as for types of cultural landscapes. Mexico and the inhumane plantation economy based In their research Troll (1959b, 1969) and later also on slave labor in Cuba and Jamaica. Their exports Lauer (1975) have further analyzed this zoning and depended heavily upon European pricing. He high- the daytime climate of tropical mountain ranges, and lighted the better situation, in comparison to farmers they have, with the help of thermoisopleth diagrams, in many parts of Europe, of the poor but also free worked out the contrast between the climate of trop- Indian farmers, although the majority of the Indians ical high mountains (“cold” tropics) and the moder- lived in utter misery due to the encomienda-system. ate and cold climates of higher latitudes, as already In his “Exposé on the main sources of wealth” had been stated by Humboldt. Humboldt examined – from the perspective of an The two “Essais politiques” on New-Spain expert but always with a clear scientific problem in (Mexico and today’s Southwest of the USA) and mind – the relationship of economy and state, i.e. Cuba were especially important. In these two also between mother country and colonies. He sub- Humboldt established in the best sense mod- stantiated his descriptions of regional differences of ern, problem-oriented regional studies (Schmieder the social and economic circumstances by means of 1964), the basics of modern geography (Stevens- a detailed presentation of the natural conditions – Middleton 1956), which for the first time also sys- without lapsing into natural determinism – as well tematically set forth economic- and socio-geo- as the genesis of the current situation. Humboldt graphic subject-matters. Thanks to the author’s ex- discerned the importance of administrative organi- act observations in Mexico they were strongly zation for the spatial planning, and he questioned practice-oriented, e.g. for mining investments and the principles of the “territorial division” of the transportation development. They served the gov- twelve Intendencias and the three peripheral ernment of the viceroyalty New-Spain as the ba- Provincias (Brand 1959). Humboldt also concerned sis for economic-political decisions, particularly as himself with the open question of the border of the Humboldt had exhausted all available sources in or- United States of America with the frontier moving der to edit the most important data. The quality vehemently west and southwest. of the available statistics appealed to him, and he Numerous comparisons help the reader with

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the classification of Mexico’s importance in tual father of the Panama Canal by Frankel (1959), the Spanish colonial empire and also globally. New had pointed to the channel connection in the third Spain earned more than two thirds of the revenue edition of his “Ansichten der Natur” (1849) which of the Spanish colonies in America and Asia, and became ever more urgent after the independence of it also contributed about 15% of the total revenue Latin-American states and the fast development of of the Spanish government. Thus Mexico yielded the west coast of the USA. twice as much for Spain as British-East India, with Humboldt (1825) has devoted slavery a pro- a population five times larger than the Mexican pop- found analysis in his work on Cuba (vol. III of the ulation, for Great Britain. Hence Humboldt’s anal- ‘‘Relation Historique’’) which he considered ‘‘the ysis, which contains government revenues, was not greatest of all evils,’’ a ‘‘political crime,’’ inhu- only important for the Spanish King but also for the mane, inefficient, and unnecessary. However, he evaluation of the global economy at that time. The concluded from a humanitarian perspective and handling of military defense in this ‘‘Essai’’ shows also quite pragmatically that better treatment of the that the arrival of more troops in Spanish America slaves would be profitable due to their decreased reflects the increasing distrust of the government of mortality. In the Spanish-American sphere of in- the mother country toward interior and exterior dan- fluence slave labor on plantations was generally not gers in the final phase of colonialism. Humboldt as important as in the southeast of the USA, on the was later also criticized in Mexico as he left results British Antilles and also in Brazil (Pfeifer 1959a). of his research including maps and information on However Humboldt attached great importance to the military to the government of the USA during this problem, also for Cuba’s political future. He his 1804 visit. supported the colonial population’s pursuit of lib- Alexander von Humboldt has ‘‘in all frankness erty, and among these, Haiti was the first to free shown the unbearable condition of the late colo- itself from European colonial rule. He criticized the nial mercantile system’’ (Troll 1959a), submitted corruption in the public administration in spite of numerous suggestions for improvement in all do- all the privileges he enjoyed, e.g. travel permit and mains, and he has emphasized that the good of the official support on site. white population involves the good of the Indians, Humboldt experienced Cuba at the time when who must share in progress. sugarcane-plantation economy expanded there due The different economic and social conditions to Haiti’s independence. While there were only in prospering Mexico in contrast with the economi- 32,000 slaves working in Cuba in 1763, their num- cally backward Andean regions have led Humboldt ber multiplied between 1790 and 1820, and in 1823 to comparative regional studies (Brand 1959); he there were 260,000 slaves. Sugar exports rose by took important natural as well as socio-economic 600% between 1770 and 1823. Humboldt made and fiscal criteria into consideration (Beck 1966). very interesting comparisons between the islands of The associated atlas (Humboldt 1811b; reprint 1969; the Antilles, where about 5 million African slaves reproduction of a few pages in the study edition – had been brought between 1670 and 1825, and the Beck 1987/1997 – vol. IV, 1991, supplement) is a colonial rule of their mother countries. 55% of the rich source for the explanation of basic problems then 1.15 million slaves of this region lived on the in the form of maps, profiles, plans, graphics, etc. British Antilles, responsible for 58% of the sugar With it Humboldt created the first thematic atlas of exports. 25% of the slaves worked on Cuba (22% a non-European continent (Beck 2000). The dis- of the sugar exports). The total of slaves on the An- cussion of possible canal connections between the tilles, also called ‘‘sugar colonies,’’ was almost three Atlantic and Pacific oceans was especially exciting times higher than the labor force on the plantations. (tables 3, 17). Humboldt, rightly called the intellec- There were 3.3 million slaves in the New World, and

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two million of these in the Portuguese colony Brazil rent along the coastlines of Chile and Peru. In a alone, which had lost its sugar export monopoly a letter to H. Berghaus Humboldt modestly opposed long time ago. In 1823 it exported only 27% – the the use of his name for the current, as his merit was Caribbean region 62% – of the total volume of the not to discover it but only to measure its temperature New World. While in Cuba slaves represented 36% and velocity (Schmieder 1964). of the population, on the British Antilles 81% of the population were slaves (cf. also Pfeifer 1959a,b; see THE RECEPTION OF HUMBOLDT’S EXPEDITION Fig. 2). Humboldt estimated the Spanish legislation ACCOUNTS AND RESULTS OF HIS RESEARCH in relation to the British and French legislation more IN EUROPE advantageous for the emancipation of slaves. Even before he set out on his great voyage Hum- In 1856 Humboldt publicly opposed an un- boldt had already been a famous explorer. Already authorized translation of his ‘‘Essai’’ in the USA in 1794 he had met with Goethe and – without any which intentionally lacked the chapter on slavery. In positive resonance – with Schiller. In Paris he had an the American election campaign – and a population intensive exchange of ideas with the most important divided in regard to slavery – this debate was ‘‘am- natural scientists of his time – e.g. Cuvier, Laplace, munition’’ for the opposing parties just before the Lagrange, Berthollet, Saint-Hilaire, Bougainville, War of Secession (Beck 1992). The ‘‘Essais’’ on Lavoisier, Gay-Lussac, Fourcroy. Circumnaviga- Cuba – while with Goethe he talked of it as ‘‘my tions of the globe and important scientific expedi- black book’’ – and also on Mexico are those publi- tions were great sensations at the turn from the 18th cations in which Humboldt defended human rights to the 19th century (Pfeifer 1959a). The educated so strongly that in independent LatinAmerica he has bourgeoisie devoured the accounts of such journeys remained unforgotten till this day. in the same manner as the nobles and the political Moreover, the essay on Cuba features a very elite did. Humboldt’s ability for narration which meticulous compilation and substantiated interpre- is both intriguing and also compressed as regards tation of the population statistics, which was still content, his joy in discussions and his comprehen- updated in a supplement until 1829. Toward the be- sive knowledge, which he managed to make good ginning of the 19th century La Habana was about the use of in regionally or thematically comparative ap- same size as New York and was the crossover point proaches, made him a ‘‘star’’ at the Paris salon and of the trade routes between the Old and the New also at the academy there. After Napoleon, who World. It was also the leading trans-shipment cen- ignored the explorer Humboldt and saw the Prus- ter of Spanish America. Together with New York, sian noble with distrust, Alexander von Humboldt Philadelphia, Mexico-City, Rio de Janeiro, and Sal- had become the best-known man in Europe (Troll vador it belonged to the six metropolises of the New 1959a). The extensive collection Humboldt and World, which, at the time of Humboldt’s voyage, Bonpland brought home from their journeys with had already more than 100,000 inhabitants. Mexico- great organization skill contributed to that. For se- City was the largest city of the New World, and in curity reasons and due to the precarious transporta- 1820 170,000 people lived there. tion conditions they had compiled several sets of the To name all of the numerous conceptual inno- same collections and left them in different places vations which appear in Humboldt’s works would (e.g. Paris, Berlin, Madrid). Scholars and illus- go far beyond the scope of this article: isotherms, trators in Paris began to join in working with the exogenous, endogenous, population density, and scientific material. many others. His discoveries concerning the ver- Overwhelmed by the comprehensive depth tical circulation of seawater are responsible for the and width of Humboldt’s scientific findings, the fa- name ‘‘Humboldt-current’’ for the cold ocean cur- mous chemist Berthollet said in Paris: “Cet homme

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Fig. 2

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réunit toute une académie en lui.” The art of sub- tory (Beck 1987/1997) exhausted Humboldt’s cap- stantiated and also exciting reporting quickly made ital (Löwenberg 1872) causing lifelong debts. Yet Humboldt a famous man. “Only that natural sci- the Kosmos-work (1845/1862) then turned out to be entist is admirable who knows every time how to “the first scientific bestseller in the first half of the describe and present the most foreign and the 19th century” (Beck 1993), and people downright strangest with its locality, with its entire neighbor- fought over the quick purchase of the work. hood in its very own element. How much I would Alexander von Humboldt’s publications, be- like to hear Humboldt tell only once.” (J.W. von ginning with the account of his journey, have had Goethe: Die Wahlverwandtschaften 1808/1809; qu. great influence on German natural scientists. Zool- in: Beck 1959). ogists, botanists, geologists, geographers, and eth- Goethe was downright fascinated: ‘‘What kind nologists found their research objectives in South of a man he is! I have known him so long, and America. The composition and publication of the yet he surprises me anew. One can say there is not research of e.g. J.B. von Spix and C.F.Ph. von Mar- one of his kind in knowledge and cognition. And tius still took many decades after the publication a manysidedness I have never encountered before! of the account of their journey (Spix and Martius Wherever one points, he is at home everywhere and 1823/1831). overwhelms us with intellectual treasures’’ (J.W. von Goethe, in: J.P. Eckermann, December 1826. CONCLUSION Gespräche mit Goethe; qu. in: Beck 1959). When Goethe received the work ‘‘Ideas for a geography of Alexander von Humboldt’s scientific reputation all plants and a natural painting of the tropics’’ (1807) over the world is above all associated with his jour- also dedicated to him, the ‘‘natural painting’’-table ney to the tropics of the New World. Many dif- was missing. Yet thanks to Humboldt’s detailed de- ferent disciplines consider Humboldt one of their scriptions he himself designed an ideal profile of the scientific forerunners. Could anything better ever altitudinal proportions of the Old and the New World happen to a scientist? In his universal approach with a couple of vegetation zones in an comparative Humboldt, who did not consider himself a universal and also opposite view (Goethe, in: Allgemeine Ge- genius (Beck 1986), has given essential impulses ographische Ephemeriden 41, vol. 1813: 3-8 with in astronomy, mathematics, physics, meteorology, table; cf. Beck and Hein 1989 and Beck 1989). climatology, oceanography, chemistry, pharmacy, Although Humboldt had been appointed mem- botany, zoology, geology, mineralogy, volcanology, ber of the Prussian academy of sciences and was archaeology, history, sociology, agronomy, ethnol- thus entitled to a pension after his return from the ogy, and medicine. Yet it is in the field of geog- New World, he spent almost all his time from 1808 raphy that his work has come to have the greatest until 1827 in Paris where he concerned himself significance, more so than in any of these fields, with the composing of the results of his research, which were first subdivided into special subjects – which was published in French. This shows the sci- especially in the natural sciences – in the course of entific significance of the French metropolis. Yet the 19th century. Experts in the individual fields not only the scientists and the scientific institutes at- mentioned above rightly point to the great impact tracted Humboldt, but the high technical quality of his studies have had on Latin America (cf. Greive the print shops and the publishers’ greater willing- 1993). In today’s computer era it deserves to be ness to market magnificently equipped, comprehen- stressed that, 200 years ago, Humboldt himself cre- sive works. However, high costs, uneconomic pro- ated a comprehensive network designed to make ceedings and faulty planning in the editing process interdisciplinary and international communication of the biggest private account of a journey in his- possible. He mailed about 35,000 handwritten let-

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ters, received about 100,000, discussed his knowl- (Pfeifer 1960). It was the “classical” phase of Ger- edge, enlarged it, and he also substantiated it. man geography, which played a key role during this As a physical geographer, founder of plant period. The “Gesellschaft für Erdkunde zu Berlin” and climatic geography, as an author of problem- honored Alexander von Humboldt with festschrifts oriented regional studies with a strong involvement in 1899 (GFE 1899) and 1959 (Schultze 1959). in conditions relevant to human geography and geo- The personality Alexander von Humboldt had politics, as a cartographer, and with the didactically many facets. He combined concentration on his sci- skilful graphic presentation of profiles he set the entific activities and enthusiasm with open-minded- standards for the modern development of geography ness and sociableness. Thanks to his noble ancestry as a science. According to Hettner (1927) ‘‘a new and his social finesse he had the best relations with age for geography has dawned with the year 1799. important politicians, created a network of work It is the year when Alexander von Humboldt set out contacts with leading scientists but also with promi- on his great American journey; we must ascribe the nent personalities of the intellectual and cultural greatest advances in geography to this journey: the life. On his journeys he was unprejudiced, he skill- foundation of several branches of general geogra- fully dealt with members of lower social classes, phy as well as the foundation of scientific regional and he respected his Indian helpers. He compen- geography.’’ ‘‘It is Alexander von Humboldt’s ev- sated for craving for recognition as an ingenious or- erlasting merit [ ...] that on his great South- and ator, who was always in the center in academic and Central-American journey he [ ...] recorded and scientific circles, and the ambitious realization of also presented the total character of countries and his projects with helpfulness to younger colleagues their inhabitants in a splendid way’’ (p. 77). Carl and unselfishness. Ritter considered Humboldt the scientific discov- Despite his social position at the Prussian court erer of America. Beck (1996) praised him as the and his privileges granted by the Spanish monarch ‘‘greatest geographer of modern times.’’ during his expeditions he presented himself as In 1827 Alexander von Humboldt returned a liberal and extremely critical scientist, especially from Paris to Berlin – following the wish of the when reporting about the degrading slave economy Prussian King Friedrich Wilhelm III, who wanted to in the feudal system of the latifundia of the New help Berlin to achieve a certain amount of scientific World. Although his health was actually weak he acclaim – mainly due to private financial problems. stood the exhausting journeys in the tropical rain- Although he had already rejected many high posi- forests or in the Andean highlands all the way to the tions, he had many obligations as appointed cham- tierra helada with a great deal of persistence berlain and advisor at the Prussian court in Berlin. and energy, except for a troublesome and severe Thus when the ‘‘Gesellschaft für Erdkunde’’ was rheumatism condition (Plewe 1970). Besides many founded in Berlin in 1828 he could not assume the honors Alexander von Humboldt, who was consid- office of president himself. Carl Ritter became pres- ered a spy at the beginning of his journey to the ident of the society. He had held the first chair of tropics and was forbidden to enter the Portuguese geography at the Berlin University since 1820, and colony Brazil, received a medal of honor from the he remained president of the society for 21 years. imperial Brazilian government in 1855. He acted Humboldt, who became honorary member of the as umpire in a border dispute between Brazil and “Gesellschaft für Erdkunde” and made many sug- Venezuela and decided in favor of Brazil (Pfeifer gestions for its programs and the journal (GFE 1970). 2003), stayed in close contact with Ritter for three Alexander von Humboldt as an explorer with decades. Ritter and Humboldt laid the foundation an ingenious capacity of observation and never end- for the development of geography in the 19th century ing scientific curiosity has contributed a great deal

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to the development of the image of the “New World” miration for the unprejudiced German scholar and in Europe. In particular he has managed to famil- his innovating ideas. In Mexico he was posthu- iarize European science and later also a larger au- mously awarded the title ‘‘Benemérito de la Patria,’’ dience with huge parts of the Central and South inVenezuela‘‘Servidor Eminente deVenezuela.’’In American tropics. He did much for the Europeans’ 1959 the new Cuban leadership under Fidel Castro understanding of Latin America and contributed to insisted upon celebrating the 100th anniversary of the development of a Latin-American identity. In Humboldt’s death four months after their coming 1823 Simón Bolívar emphasized that Humboldt had into power. done more for South America than all conquerors In face of the fact that in LatinAmericaAlexan- (Heiman 1959). der von Humboldt is commemorated more than in It would be justified to call Alexander von Germany – however, see among other things the Humboldt with his holistic understanding of nature extraordinarily deserving publication and annota- and scientific plan (Meyer-Abich 1993) the founder tion of the study edition by Beck 1987/1997, the of a problem-oriented research on the tropics, which comprehensive research of the Berlin-Brandenburg exceeded the mere description of ‘‘exotic’’ details Academy of Sciences (BBAW) since 1983, Greive and also put forth the first approaches of a system- 1993, Inter Nationes 1999, Diálogo Científico 8, atics of tropical ecology. Today’s research on the 2, 1999 – it is especially agreeable that a ‘‘Wil- tropics and Latin America-research in Germany are helm and Alexander von Humboldt-chair’’ was es- judged in light of this tradition. tablished in Mexico in October 1998 funded by the Humboldt failed to achieve one thing: he could DAAD. There students and scientists from Mexico never realize his dream to retire in Mexico and open can concern themselves with Germany-studies. a large central institute of sciences. Toward the In the sense of Humboldt’s humanistic world- beginning of the 19th century no city of the New view, who overcame the eurocentric way of thinking World – not even in the USA – had scientific institu- and was ‘‘at home’’ in the Old as well as in the New tions as important as Mexico-City (Pfeifer 1959a). World, this is a contribution to the advancement and While his travel companion Bonpland (1773/1858) the continuation of the dialogue and the intensifica- returned to South America (Paraguay, Argentina), tion of the scientific relations between LatinAmerica whose stay had a very tragic character due and Germany. In remembrance of the great explorer to his capture (1821/1831) by the Paraguayan dic- it is the central aim of the German ‘‘Alexander von tator Francia, Alexander von Humboldt did not live Humboldt-Foundation’’ to keep these contacts alive to see the New World again; he died in 1859. It all over the world. is in Latin America where Humboldt has remained unforgotten. This is not only true for the sciences RESUMO where his contribution was and still is very substan- tially analyzed (among others Unam 1962, Martínez A expedição científica de Alexander von Humboldt de and Hampe 1999, Greiff 1999), and till this day his 1799 a 1804 pela região equinocial do novo mundo foi contribution is admired as the first great transfer realizada através dos países Venezuela, Cuba, Colôm- of research results in favor of the young indepen- bia, Equador, Peru e México. Esta viagem, destinada à dent Latin America. The naming of numerous topo- obtenção de novos conhecimentos aprofundados sobre o graphic points after him and the lively interest in this ‘‘novo mundo’’ para a Europa, foi financiada com meios personality attest to his influence. This is reflected particulares e tinha exclusivamente objetivos científicos e in monuments, places named after him, roads, in- não a exploração de recursos naturais. Paralelamente aos stitutes, scientific societies, museums, schools, etc, resultados de pesquisa, fundamentados em novos métodos and also in public honors on memorial days in ad- de medida e da elaboração quantitativa de fundamentos

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das ciências naturais, a viagem proporcionou relatórios Dioskuren. Probleme in Leben und Werk der Brüder geográficos integrando fatos sociais, sócio-econômicos, Humboldt. Mannheim, p. 126–182. políticos e da geografia econômica, tendo como base a Beck H. 1987-1997 (Ed.). Alexander von Humboldt. pesquisa empírica de campo. Studienausgabe. 7 vol. Darmstadt (Forschungsun- ternehmen der Humboldt-Gesellschaft, nr. 40). A expedição foi realizada pouco antes da mudança política radical na América Latina. Humboldt ainda pre- Beck H. 2000. Alexander von Humboldt – Kartograph der Neuen Welt. Profil des neuesten Forschungs- senciou a economia mundial, colonial e feudal, baseada standes. In: Haberland, D et al. (Eds.). Die na escravidão. Apesar de pertencer à aristocracia, von Dioskuren II. Annäherungen an Leben und Werk der Humboldt criticou de forma veemente essa estrutura eco- Brüder Humboldt. Mannheim, p. 45–68. nômica e suas condições sociais insuportáveis. Por este Beck H and Hein W-H. 1989. Humboldts Naturge- fato e pelos resultados científicos obtidos quando da ex- mälde der Tropenländer und Goethes ideale Land- pedição aos trópicos e pelos impulsos inovativos dados à schaft. Stuttgart, 63 p. geografia e a muitas outras disciplinas científicas como Beck H and Meyer-Abich A. 1971. Alexander von erudito universal ele é admirado até os dias de hoje na Humboldts großes amerikanisches Reisewerk. Eine América Latina e na Europa. Alexander von Humboldt bibliographische Einleitung. NewYork,Amsterdam. marcou decisivamente o mundo científico na primeira Bitterling R. 1954. Alexander von Humboldts Ameri- parte do século XIX. kareise in zeitgenössischer Darstellung. Petermanns Palavras-chave: geografia histórica, estudos regionais, Geographische Mitteilungen 98: 161–171. América Latina, colônias espanholas, Alexander von Brand DD. 1959. Humboldts Essai Politique Sur Le Humboldt. Royaume De La Nouvelle Espagne. In: Schultze, JH. (Ed.). Alexander von Humboldt. Studien zu REFERENCES seiner universalen Geisteshaltung. Berlin, p. 123– 141. BBAW (Berlin-Brandenburgische Akademie der Wissenschaften) (Ed.). Beiträge zur Alexander- Bruhns K. 1872 (Ed.). Alexander von Humboldt. Eine von-Humboldt-Forschung. Vol. 1, 1983 – Vol. 22, wissenschaftliche Biographie. 2 vol. Leipzig. 1997. Berlin. Buisson I. 1980. Die Unabhängigkeitsbewegungen in BBAW. (Ed.). Berliner Manuskripte zur Alexander-von- Iberoamerika. In: Buisson, I and Schottelius, H. Humboldt-Forschung. Vol. 1, 1990 – Vol. 25, 2002. Die Unabhängigkeitsbewegungen in Lateinamerika Berlin. 1788–1826. Handbuch der lateinamerikanischen BBAW and Institut für Romanistik, Universität Geschichte. Teilveröffentlichung. Stuttgart, p. 1– Potsdam (Eds.). Internationale Zeitschrift für Hum- 118. boldt-Studien (electronic periodical; Internet: http:/ Ette O. (Ed.). 1991. Alexander von Humboldt. Reise www.hin.online.de). in die Äquinoktialgegenden des Neuen Kontinents. 2 Beck H. 1959 (Ed.). Gespräche Alexander von Hum- vol. Frankfurt am Main, Leipzig. boldts. Berlin, 492 p. Faak M. 1986 (Ed.). Alexander von Humboldt. Reise Beck H. 1959/1961. Alexander von Humboldt. Vol. auf dem Río Magdalena, durch die Anden und Mex- I: Von der Bildungsreise zur Forschungsreise 1769- ico. Part I: Text. Aus seinen Reisetagebüchern 1804; vol II: Vom Reisewerk zum ‘‘Kosmos’’ 1804- zusammengestellt und erläutert durch M. Faak. Bei- 1859. Wiesbaden (Spanish translation: México träge zur Alexander-von-Humboldt-Forschung, vol. 1971). 8. Berlin. Beck H. 1966. Alexander von Humboldt und Mexico. Fiedler H and Leitner, U. 2000 Alexander von Hum- Beiträge zu einem geographischen Erlebnis. Bad boldts Schriften. Bibliographie der selbständig er- Godesberg (Spanish translation: México 1971). schienenen Werke. Beiträge zur A.v. Humboldt- Beck H. 1986. Alexander von Humboldt als größter Forschung 20. Berlin. Geograph der Neuzeit. In: Kessler, H. (Ed.). Die

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