Personal Narrative Of Travels To The Equinoctial Regions Of America During The Years 1799-1804 - Volume 1 - By Alexander Von Humboldt And Aime Bonpland.
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I Employed Myself
In Ascertaining By Astronomical Observations The Position Of
Several Points Important For The Geography Of Spain, And Determined
By Means Of The Barometer The Height Of The Central Plain.
I
likewise made several observations on the inclination of the
needle, and on the intensity of the magnetic forces.
On my arrival at Madrid I had reason to congratulate myself on the
resolution I had formed of visiting the Peninsula. Baron de Forell,
minister from the court of Saxony, treated me with a degree of
kindness, of which I soon felt the value. He was well versed in
mineralogy, and was full of zeal for every undertaking that
promoted the progress of knowledge. He observed to me, that under
the administration of an enlightened minister, Don Mariano Luis de
Urquijo, I might hope to obtain permission to visit, at my own
expense, the interior of Spanish America. After the disappointments
I had suffered, I did not hesitate a moment to adopt this idea.
I was presented at the court of Aranjuez in March 1799 and the king
received me graciously. I explained to him the motives which led me
to undertake a voyage to the new world and the Philippine Islands,
and I presented a memoir on the subject to the secretary of state.
Senor de Urquijo supported my demand, and overcame every obstacle.
I obtained two passports, one from the first secretary of state,
the other from the council of the Indies. Never had so extensive a
permission been granted to any traveller, and never had any
foreigner been honoured with more confidence on the part of the
Spanish government.
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