Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People
In the numerous texts he wrote about his grand voyage to the Americas (1799–1804), the Berlin-born, highly influential, independent scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) considers the people in Spanish America time and time again. While Humboldt was trained as a botanist, geologist, and mining...
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| Format: | Article |
| Language: | English |
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MDPI AG
2023-10-01
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| Series: | Histories |
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| Online Access: | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/3/4/22 |
| _version_ | 1797380871655784448 |
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| author | Joachim Eibach |
| author_facet | Joachim Eibach |
| author_sort | Joachim Eibach |
| collection | DOAJ |
| description | In the numerous texts he wrote about his grand voyage to the Americas (1799–1804), the Berlin-born, highly influential, independent scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) considers the people in Spanish America time and time again. While Humboldt was trained as a botanist, geologist, and mining engineer, he was nevertheless fascinated by indigenous actors who employed specific competencies as they operated in their natural environments and their own socio-cultural contexts, which were distinctly different from those in Europe. His perspectives on indigenous people are complex and refer back to various current discourses of his day. Although these texts address very different topics across a range of disciplines, they nevertheless clearly testify to his intense interest in Latin American society and culture. Humboldt repeatedly reconsiders his approaches to these topics; in a characteristically Humboldtian manner, he attempts to understand quite diverse phenomena by means of precise, on-site observation, comparison, and contextualization. In so doing, his argumentation oscillated between the poles established and defined by contemporary discourse, namely ‘savage’ and ‘barbarism’ on one side of the spectrum, and ‘civilization’ on the other. |
| first_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:43:16Z |
| format | Article |
| id | doaj.art-e1326f8fc5e1450e8f45ecc853b1a478 |
| institution | Directory Open Access Journal |
| issn | 2409-9252 |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2024-03-08T20:43:16Z |
| publishDate | 2023-10-01 |
| publisher | MDPI AG |
| record_format | Article |
| series | Histories |
| spelling | doaj.art-e1326f8fc5e1450e8f45ecc853b1a4782023-12-22T14:12:21ZengMDPI AGHistories2409-92522023-10-013433134710.3390/histories3040022Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous PeopleJoachim Eibach0Historical Institute, University of Bern, 3012 Bern, SwitzerlandIn the numerous texts he wrote about his grand voyage to the Americas (1799–1804), the Berlin-born, highly influential, independent scholar Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) considers the people in Spanish America time and time again. While Humboldt was trained as a botanist, geologist, and mining engineer, he was nevertheless fascinated by indigenous actors who employed specific competencies as they operated in their natural environments and their own socio-cultural contexts, which were distinctly different from those in Europe. His perspectives on indigenous people are complex and refer back to various current discourses of his day. Although these texts address very different topics across a range of disciplines, they nevertheless clearly testify to his intense interest in Latin American society and culture. Humboldt repeatedly reconsiders his approaches to these topics; in a characteristically Humboldtian manner, he attempts to understand quite diverse phenomena by means of precise, on-site observation, comparison, and contextualization. In so doing, his argumentation oscillated between the poles established and defined by contemporary discourse, namely ‘savage’ and ‘barbarism’ on one side of the spectrum, and ‘civilization’ on the other.https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/3/4/22Humboldtian sciencebarbarismsavagecivilizationindigenous knowledge |
| spellingShingle | Joachim Eibach Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People Histories Humboldtian science barbarism savage civilization indigenous knowledge |
| title | Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People |
| title_full | Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People |
| title_fullStr | Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People |
| title_full_unstemmed | Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People |
| title_short | Naturmenschen? Alexander von Humboldt and Indigenous People |
| title_sort | naturmenschen alexander von humboldt and indigenous people |
| topic | Humboldtian science barbarism savage civilization indigenous knowledge |
| url | https://www.mdpi.com/2409-9252/3/4/22 |
| work_keys_str_mv | AT joachimeibach naturmenschenalexandervonhumboldtandindigenouspeople |