Physical Description:
1 letter, 23 cm., 4 pages. Notes:
In this letter to the viceroy of New Spain, Juan Vicente Güémez
Pacheco de Padilla Horcasitas y Aguayo, Conde de Revillagigedo,
Alejandro Malaspina details the route of his voyage to that point,
its scientific and mapping work, and future plans. Specific
subjects in the letter include: José Bustamante y Guerra;
Francisco Gil de Taboada; the route of the voyage to the port of
Callao, Peru; approaches to navigating Cape Horn; places for
obtaining ship's rigging; major ports in Spanish Colonial America;
scientific and astronomical work done at Santiago, Chile; and the
hostility of the Conde de Revillagigedo to the Russians. Malaspina
also states that he will not be making a visit to Mexico City. Biographical Note:
An Italian aristocrat and commander in the Spanish navy, Alejandro
Malaspina received permission from the Spanish king, Charles III,
for a scientific expedition to the Americas and to the Pacific.
Malaspina modeled the expedition on the voyages of the British
naval explorer James Cooke and the French explorer the Comte de La
Pérouse. Malaspina and his co-commander José de Bustamante y
Guerra were charged with conducting scientific investigations and
reporting on the state of Spain's overseas colonies. The world-wide
voyage launched from Spain in 1789 and returned there in 1794. The
expedition of two ships explored the California coast and the
Pacific Northwest before moving on to the broader Pacific.
Malaspina's expedition gathered 10,000 specimens of flora and fauna
and reported on the indigenous peoples already living there. Subjects:
Bustamante y Guerra, José de, 1759-1825. ; Gil de Taboada y Lemos,
Francisco, -1809. ; Malaspina, Alessandro, 1754-1809. ; Explorers
-- New Spain -- History -- 18th century. ; Horn, Cape (Chile) --
Description and travel. ; Mexico -- History -- 18th century --
Sources. ; New Spain -- History -- 18th century -- Sources. ; Spain
-- Colonies -- Administration -- History -- 18th century --
Sources. Form/Genre:
Letters (correspondence) Peru 18th century. (aat) Provenance:
Purchased by the Library Collectors' Council from William Reese
Company, January 20, 2018.
Rights
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