Ecology on the Ground and in the Clouds: Aimé Bonpland and Alexander Von Humboldt

374 Pages·2022·2.57 MB·English

by  Andrea Nye, Aime Bonpland (editor)

ECOLOGY
on the
GROUND
and in
THE CLOUDS
SUNY series in Environmental Philosophy and Ethics
—————
J. Baird Callicott and John van Buren, editors
ECOLOGY
on the
GROUND
and in
THE CLOUDS
Aimé Bonpland and Alexander von Humboldt
ANDREA NYE
Cover, Alexander von Humboldt (1769–1859) and Aimé Bonpland (1773–1858) shown
in a romanticised view of their exploration of the Amazon rainforest in 1800, surrounded
with various items of scientific equipment. Oil painting by Eduard Ender (1822–1883)
painted in 1856. Along with a portion of a plate from Humboldt and Bonpland’s Essay
on the Geography of Plants.

Published by State University of New York Press, Albany
© 2022 State University of New York
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No part of this book may be used or reproduced in any manner whatsoever
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For information, contact State University of New York Press, Albany, NY
www.sunypress.edu
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data
Name: Nye, Andrea, 1939– author.
Title: Ecology on the ground and in the clouds : Aimé Bonpland and
Alexander von Humboldt / Andrea Nye.
Description: Albany : State University of New York Press, [2022] | Series:
SUNY series in environmental philosophy and ethics | Includes
bibliographical references and index.
Identifiers: LCCN 2021040873 (print) | LCCN 2021040874 (ebook) | ISBN
9781438487014 (hardcover : alk. paper) | ISBN 9781438487021 (ebook)
Subjects: LCSH: Human ecology—Philosophy. | Human beings—Effect of
environment on.
Classification: LCC GF21 .N94 2022 (print) | LCC GF21 (ebook) | DDC
304.2—dc23/eng/20211006
LC record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021040873
LC ebook record available at https://lccn.loc.gov/2021040874
10 9 8 7 6 5 4 3 2 1
“The secret of the human condition is that there is no equilibrium between
human beings and the surrounding forces of nature, which infinitely exceed
them in inaction: there is only equilibrium in action by which human
beings recreate their own lives through work.”
—Simone Weil, Gravity and Grace

Contents
Introduction 1
Part I. Setting Out
1 Close Encounter at a Paris Boarding House 9
2 A Walk across Spain and a Climb Up a Volcano 25
Part II. The Voyage
3 Aerial Views, Nocturnal Birds, and Wild Indians 43
4 The Eel Ponds of the Llanos 61
5 Riverworlds 75
6 The Mountain 95
7 The Changing of the Gods 115
Part III. The Return
8 Coming Home 131
9 Tales of Three Cities 147
viii | Contents
10 Botany on Demand 175
11 Taking Leave 195
Part IV. Worlds Apart
12 A Lost Friend 215
13 Warlords and Kings 233
14 Cosmos and Microcosm 261
15 A Last Exchange of Gifts 287
16 Scattered Remains 311
Afterthoughts: A Bonplandian Ethos 325
Notes 333
Primary Sources 349
Bibliography 351
Index 359
Introduction
On August 1, 1804, the frigate La Favorite anchored at the Garrone River near
Bordeaux, carrying two men who had just completed a four-year exploration
of South America. They mapped a reputed link between the tributaries of the
Orinoco and Amazon river systems. They climbed the high Andes and crossed
the burning desert of the llanos. They brought back 40 crates of animals and
plants never before seen in Europe, as well as thousands of pages of notes,
drawings, and measurements. Immediately on entering the harbor, Alexander von
Humboldt, who had financed the expedition, took charge of what he assumed
would be their shared future. In a matter of weeks he selected items from their
collections for an exhibit at the Muséum national d’histoire naturelle (National
Museum of Natural History) in Paris, impressed the Institut de France with
a dramatic talk on the capture of electric eels, lobbied government officials,
and began the process of lining up publishers for a long list of volumes that
would rival the results of Napoleon’s conquest of Egypt. Out and about in
fashionable Parisian salons and drawing rooms, he fascinated guests with stories
of adventures with wild Indians and on simmering volcanoes.
If Alexander Humboldt stepped eagerly onto the stage of European intel-
lectual history, Aimé Bonpland, the French botanist who had been at his side
for five years collecting and describing plants and animals, retreated. When
he left Paris with Humboldt in 1798, France was a fledgling republic. Now
under the rule of Napoleon Bonaparte, it was an imperial power. Treasure from
foreign conquests paraded through the streets. Monumental building projects
were under way. No, he would not join Humboldt at Napoleon’s coronation
as emperor in the Cathedral of Notre Dame, which anyone with any sense
would realize was a ridiculous show. Yes, he understood that it was important
to profit from a moment of return from exotic locations to attract an audience
for one’s writings. But botanical work takes time. Each plant has to be carefully
cataloged and its classification confirmed. And yes, he would give a paper at
1