Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, Volume 2 : A Critical Edition / Alexander von Humboldt; Vera M. Kutzinski, Ottmar Ette.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

von Humboldt, Alexander, Author.

Contributor:

Ette, Ottmar

Ette, Ottmar, Editor.

Kutzinski, Vera M.

Kutzinski, Vera M., Editor.

Series:

Alexander von Humboldt in English

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Agriculture--Mexico.

Agriculture.

Mines and mineral resources--Mexico.

Mines and mineral resources.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (560 p.) : 180 tables

Place of Publication:

Chicago : University of Chicago Press, [2020]

Language Note:

In English.

Summary:

Volume 2 of this critical edition includes the translation of Volumes 3 and 4 of the second, revised French edition of Alexander von Humboldt’s Essai politique sur le royaume de de Nouvelle Espagne from 1825 to 1827 as well as notes, supplements, indexes, and more. Alexander von Humboldt was the most celebrated modern chronicler of North and South America and the Caribbean, and this translation of his essay on New Spain—the first modern regional economic and political geography—covers his travels across today’s Mexico in 1803–1804. The work canvases natural-scientific and cultural-scientific objects alike, combining the results of fieldwork with archival research and expert testimony. To show how people, plants, animals, goods, and ideas moved across the globe, Humboldt wrote in a variety of styles, bending and reshaping familiar writerly conventions to keep readers attentive to new inputs. Above all, he wanted his readers to be open-minded when confronted with cultural and other differences in the Americas. Fueled by his comparative global perspective on politics, economics, and science, he used his writing to support Latin American independence and condemn slavery and other forms of colonial exploitation. It is these voluminous and innovative writings on the New World that made Humboldt the undisputed father of modern geography, early American studies, transatlantic cultural history, and environmental studies. This two-volume critical edition—the third installment in the Alexander von Humboldt in English series—is based on the full text, including all footnotes, tables, and maps, of the second, revised French edition of Essai politique sur le royaume de de Nouvelle Espagne from 1825 to 1827, which has never been translated into English before. Extensive annotations and full-color atlases are available on the series website.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Chapter X. Plants That Furnish Raw Materials for Manufacturing and for Trade—Raising Livestock—Fishing— Agricultural Yield Estimated according to the Amount of the Tithes

Chapter XI. State of the Mining of New Spain—Gold and Steel Production—Average Wealth in Ore—Amount of Mercury Consumed Annually in the Amalgamation Process—Amount of Precious Metals That Have Flowed from the One Continent to the Other Since the Conquest of Mexico

Chapter XII. The Manufacturing Industry—Cotton Cloth—Woolens— Cigars— Soda and Soap—Gunpowder— Coins— The Exchange of Products—Trade in the Interior—Roads— External Trade through Veracruz and Acapulco—Obstacles to This Trade—Yellow Fever

XIII. The Current Revenue of the Kingdom of New Spain—Its Gradual Increase since the Beginning of the Eighteenth Century— Sources of Public Revenue

XIV. Collection Costs—Public Expenses—Situados— The Net Product Deposited in the Royal Treasury in Madrid—The State of the Military—National Defense—Final Summary

Notes

Supplement

Excerpt from the Will of Hernán Cortés

Geographical and Physical Atlas of the Kingdom of New Spain

Indexes

Notes:

Description based on online resource; title from PDF title page (publisher's Web site, viewed 28. Sep 2020)

ISBN:

9780226651699

022665169X

OCLC:

1198930404