A Geography of Hard Times: Narratives about Travel to South America, 1780-1849 (SUNY series in Latin American and Iberian Thought and Culture)

THE HARD TIMES that are the focus of this study open, symbolically, with the crucial year 1780, which marked the beginning of the end of the colonial period for the countries of South America. The event that justifies singling this particular year out of a century chock-full of discontent within the Spanish viceroyalties is, of course, the murder in Cuzco’s central plaza of José Gabriel Túpac Amaru Inca, his wife Micaela Bastidas, their sons Francisco and Hipolito, and several cousins, principal lieutenants of his rebellion, and other men and women who followed him. Before he suffered being drawn and quartered, his body pulled apart by horses and his bodily remnants scattered throughout the territory of Cuzco, Túpac Amaru’s tongue was cut out. A GEOGRAPHY OF HARD TIMES......Page 4 Contents......Page 6 Acknowledgments......Page 8 List of Illustrations......Page 10 Introduction......Page 14 PART I: THE SCHOLAR AND THE BARON: VOYAGE OF THE EXACT SCIENCES......Page 22 Introduction to Part I......Page 24 1. Mutis, or The Trap of Mutisia Clematis......Page 30 2. Humboldt: The Silences and Complicities of Cartography......Page 52 PART II: THE DAUGHTER OF THE EAST AND THE PARIAH: VOYAGE OF THE SOCIAL SCIENCES......Page 86 Introduction to Part II......Page 88 3. Graham: The White Daughter of the East, or A Foreigner in Indomitable Lands......Page 94 4. Tristán, or The Incendiary Geography of a Pilgrim Pariah......Page 116 Epilogue......Page 136 INTRODUCTION......Page 138 PART I. INTRODUCTION TO PART I......Page 140 1. MUTIS, OR THE TRAP OF MUTISIA CLEMATIS......Page 141 2. HUMBOLDT: THE SILENCES AND COMPLICITIES OF CARTOGRAPHY......Page 145 PART II. INTRODUCTION TO PART II......Page 149 3. GRAHAM: THE WHITE DAUGHTER OF THE EAST, OR A FOREIGNER IN INDOMITABLE LANDS......Page 150 4. TRISTÁN, OR THE INCENDIARY GEOGRAPHY OF A PILGRIM PARIAH......Page 152 References......Page 158 B......Page 168 C......Page 169 E......Page 170 F......Page 171 H......Page 172 I......Page 173 M......Page 174 N......Page 175 Q......Page 176 S......Page 177 T......Page 178 U......Page 179 Z......Page 180 This fascinating glimpse into South America's past focuses on the works of four European voyagers who came to South America and left a legacy of travel writing in their wake: José Celestino Mutis, a Spanish botanist and doctor; Alexander von Humboldt, a German geographer; Maria Graham, a British historian; and Flora Tristán, a French feminist and labor activist whose father was Peruvian. Each took on his or her voyage as a personal endeavor, and collectively their travels covered the Andes from its northern traces in Venezuela to the southern heights of Chile and Arequipa. Their writing contributed to the construction of a complex map of the Andes in which many levels of physical and social geography may be read. By analyzing the travelers' narratives, illustrations, and maps, Ángela Pérez-Mejía unravels the rich complexities of the colonial travel experience, explores its impact on both the object of description and the traveler's subjectivity, and the collective readership seeking a discourse of nationhood.

Author Biography: Ángela Pérez-Mejía is an Associate Professor in the Romance and Comparative Literature Department at Brandeis University. The Spanish version of this book won honorable mention in the literary essay category, International Literary Prize, Casa de las Américas, Cuba, 2000.

"This glimpse into South America's past focuses on the works of four European voyagers who came to South America and left a legacy of travel writing in their wake: Jose Celestino Mutis, a Spanish botanist and doctor; Alexander von Humboldt, a German geographer; Maria Graham, a British historian; and Flora Tristan, a French feminist and labor activist whose father was Peruvian. Each took on his or her voyage as a personal endeavor, and collectively their travels covered the Andes from its northern traces in Venezuela to the southern heights of Chile and Arequipa. Their writing contributed to the construction of a complex map of the Andes in which many levels of physical and social geography may be read. By analyzing the travelers' narratives, illustrations, and maps, Angela Perez-Mejia unravels the rich complexities of the colonial travel experience, explores its impact on both the object of description and the traveler's subjectivity, and the collective readership seeking a discourse of nationhood."--BOOK JACKET Pt. I. Scholar And The Baron : Voyage Of The Exact Sciences -- Ch. 1. Mutis, Or The Trap Of Mutisia Clematis -- Ch. 2. Humboldt : The Silences And Complicities Of Cartography -- Pt. Ii. Daughter Of The East And The Pariah : Voyage Of The Social Sciences -- Ch. 3. Graham : The White Daughter Of The East, Or A Foreigner In Indomitable Lands -- Ch. 4. Tristan, Or The Incendiary Geography Of A Pilgrim Pariah. Angela Pérez Mejía ; Translated By Dick Cluster. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 125-154) And Index.