Franz Keller-Leuzinger’s Exploration of the Amazon and Madeira Rivers During the Brazilian Empire: Press and Nation

Abstract

The relationship between travelers and the Amazon River is a subject that, for a long time, has been enticing researchers of different disciplines and from many parts of the world. Such as the river, the subject also seems endless. This paper seeks to contribute a small fragment to the larger discussion by narrating the journey of the German draftsman, cartographer, engineer and painter Franz Keller-Leuzinger through the repercussion of his writings in the Brazilian and international press of the time. Although his work has already been used as reference for researches on railroad history and photography, there are few studies dedicated exclusively to this explorer, who remains almost unknown. We seek to highlight this traveler in an attempt to understand issues related to the perception of the Amazon region by the end of the Brazilian Empire, and the contemporary projects to integrate that region to the rest of the country, within the process of building a sense of nationality based on the territory’s grandeur.