Selections from the Works of the Baron de Humboldt, Relating to the Climate, Inhabitants, Productions, and Mines of Mexico

An 1824 translation and abridgement, with a focus on mining and natural resources, of Humboldt's major works on central America.

Alexander von Humboldt (Author), John Taylor (Edited by)

9781108033749, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 3 November 2011

370 pages, 1 b/w illus. 1 map
21.6 x 14 x 2.1 cm, 0.47 kg

Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) was one of the most respected scientists of his time; Darwin called him 'the greatest scientific traveller who ever lived'. From 1799 Humboldt spent five years exploring the Americas, reporting his findings in thirty volumes, published over a period of more than twenty years from 1805. His Essai Politique, describing northern New Spain, particularly Mexico, was one of the first studies of a single country written to take account of both its history, its society and its political development. In 1824, the English mining engineer John Taylor published this abridged translation, combining it with passages from Humboldt's Geognostical Essay on the Superposition of Rocks in order to provide a focussed account of Mexico's mining concerns and opportunities. Including detailed maps, this work contains exhaustive statistics, particularly with regard to trade, agriculture and mining, alongside geographical studies and observations on the population and government.

Introduction
1. Kingdom of Mexico
2. City of Mexico
3. Climate
4. Population
5. Manufactures
6. Intendancy of Vera Cruz
7. Mineral productions
8. Geological description of the mining districts of Mexico
9. Geological constitution of mines
10. Number of mines
11. Intendancy of Guanaxuato
12. Intendancy of Zacatecas
13. Intendancy of San Luis Potosi
14. Intendancy of Mexico
15. Intendancy of Guadalaxara
16. Intendancy of Valladolid
17. Summary recapitulation.

Subject Areas: Economic history [KCZ]