Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain, Volume 2 by Alexander von Humboldt

More on Mexican history and geography, region by region

After conducting a year’s worth of travel and research in Mexico from 1803 to 1804, Prussian explorer and naturalist Alexander von Humboldt published his Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain in 1811. That same year, the English edition, translated by John Black, was published in four volumes. Though entitled a “Political Essay,” Humboldt’s study of New Spain (the Spanish colonial name for Mexico) covers way more than just politics, and Volume 2 is even less political than Volume 1. In this second volume, Humboldt gives a geographic overview of each of the 15 intendencies of Mexico. These were the former regional divisions of Mexico, fewer in number and larger in size than the 32 Mexican states of today. For each of these districts, Humboldt discusses its topography, demography, flora and fauna, mineralogy, history, and much more.

Not surprisingly, the intendency of Mexico (which included Mexico City) gets the most coverage. After about a hundred interesting pages on the capital city and its environs, Humboldt tests the reader’s patience with a 75-page history of flood control efforts in the Valley of Mexico—the one portion of the book that really drags. Otherwise, for the most part, Humboldt’s extended digressions pay off with interest. After discussing all the intendencies of New Spain, for example, Humboldt recounts the history of Spanish exploration of the Pacific Coast of North America from San Francisco up to the Bering Strait. This leads to a discussion of Russian settlements in Alaska and Canada, which really doesn’t belong in this book at all, but it is quite interesting.

In Volume 1 of the Political Essay on New Spain, Humboldt is very critical of the Spanish conquistadores, colonialism, and slavery. Volume 2, however, doesn’t delve much into political subject matter, so colonialism and slavery aren’t really discussed in-depth. In his historical recaps, Humboldt surprisingly refers to the “great Cortez” and “great Columbus” on a few occasions, which is very uncharacteristic of him. On the other hand, Humboldt still speaks out for Indigenous rights. He points out, for example, that the Spanish, English, French, and Russians are all fighting over the Northwest coast of Canada, but he reminds his readers that the land really belongs to its Native inhabitants.

The final third of the volume is devoted to a discussion of the agricultural products of Mexico. Humboldt explores the natural history of bananas, manioc, maize, potatoes, maguey or agave (from which tequila is derived), and other agricultural staples of the New World, while also examining how well wheat and various Old World fruits grow in the Mexican climate. When Humboldt delves into the history of these plants, discussing where they originated and when they were first transported to other continents, he makes botanical science read like an intriguing unsolved mystery.

Those interested in historical studies of the Americas, such as Charles Mann’s books 1491 and 1493, will find a similar fascination with Humboldt’s Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain. The difference of course is that Humboldt’s book was written over two hundred years ago, so he did not have the benefit of so much archaeological and scientific research conducted since then. However, Humboldt’s study really encapsulates the natural and social environment of Mexico in the early 19th century, while also providing important historical lessons on pre-Columbian civilizations, the Spanish conquest, and colonial times. 21st century readers with an avid interest in Mexico and its history will be enthralled by the impressive erudition and encyclopedic scope of Humboldt’s knowledge.
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