A New Approach: Alexander von Humboldt's Perception of Colonial Spanish America as Reflected in his Travel Diaries

Abstract

AbstractThis study presents an in-depth analysis of Alexander von Humboldt's description and criticism of the various colonial societies of Spanish America which he visited during his well-known expedition through the Americas (1799–1804). His criticism of colonialism in general, deeply rooted in his personal convictions, has already been the focal point of several scholarly studies; however, during his American expedition Humboldt offered a more differentiated assessment of specific colonial societies, namely by comparing various regional and local traditions and developments. This differentiated assessment of Spanish American colonial societies has yet to be analysed. This essay focuses on Humboldt's little known personal diaries, which offer a wealth of interesting comments on colonial societies, but which have been scarcely used in international Humboldt research, since they have not yet been translated entirely.