Travelogues of Latin America are published accounts describing Latin America and the Caribbean by foreign travelers from early Iberian conquest to the early 20th century. The Spanish and Portuguese monarchs' efforts to restrict non-Iberian's access to Latin America during the colonial era mean that most of the works published before 1800 were by authorized Spanish or Portuguese chroniclers, or European Catholic missionaries. However, the popularity of Prussian naturalist Alexander von Humboldt's twenty-one volume account of his travels in Latin America marked a turning point. Starting in the 1820s, most independent Latin American governments welcomed increased exchanges with European visitors, increasing the number of German, British, French, and U.S. travelogues published. Many foreigners were interested in economic opportunities available in Latin America. At least 394 travelogues describing Mexico were published between 1810 and 1910. For Brazil, European and U.S. visitors published at least 158 travelogues between 1800 and 1899.
While scholars including Marjorie Agosín, June E. Hahner, and Miguel A. Cabañas have noted that these works replicate many of the biases of their authors, they are an important sources in the study of Latin American history.
Travelogues by Country or Region
Argentina
Beaumont, J.A.B.. Travels in Buenos Ayres, and the Adjacent Provinces of Rio de la Plata: with Observations Intended for the Use of Persons who Contemplate Emigrating to that Country. London: J. Ridgway, 1828. J.A.B Beaumont was a British business person and traveler. In his travelogue Beaumont describes his experiences in Argentina, and describes the political effectiveness of local government and the demographics of Buenos Aires and surrounding areas. The text is focused on providing an informal description and perspective of potential benefits or risks that could come from emigrating to or investing in Buenos Aires. Denis, Pierre. The Argentine Republic, Its Development and Progress. London: T. F. Unwin, Ltd.: 1922. King, J. Anthony. Twenty-four Years in the Argentine Republic. New York: D. Appleton & company, 1846. MacCann, Two Thousand Miles' Ride through the Argentine Provinces. London: Smith, Elder & Co., 1853. Page, Thomas Jefferson. La Plata, the Argentine Confederation and Paraguay: being a Narrative of the Exploration of the Tributaries of the River La Plata and Adjacent Countries during the Years 1853, '54, '55, and '56, under the Orders of the United States Government. New York: Harper, 1859. Parish, Woodbine Sir. Buenos Ayres, and the Provinces of the Rio de La Plata. London: J. Murray, 1839. Vidal, Emeric Essex. Picturesque Illustrations of Buenos Ayres and Monte Video, Consisting of Twenty-four Views. London: R. Ackermann, 1820. Emeric Essex Vidal, was a British painter and Naval officer, describes the areas of Buenos Aires and Montevideo, along with his own watercolor illustrations. He spends much of the travelog describing the physical characteristics of Buenos Aires and also highlights the social hierarchy of Argentina at the time, including his commentary on the indigenous populations and the institution of slavery.
Bolivia
De Bonelli, L. Hugh. Travels in Bolivia. London: Hurst and Blackett, 1854. The author of this Travelogue is De Bonelli, L. Hugh, a servant of the Britannic Majesties Legation. Published in 1854, we follow Bonelli as he travels all throughout South America, with a focus on Panama and Bolivia. Conway, William Martin, Sir, 1856–1937. The Bolivian Andes: A Record of Climbing & Exploration in the Cordillera Real in the Years 1898 and 1900. New York: Harper & Brothers,1901. Sir William Conway was an English politician, art critic, and traveler who underwent notable expeditions into the Andes and Himalayas. Conway wrote on his experience following two trips to Bolivia, once in 1898 and again in 1900, focusing on mountaineering in the Andes and visits to La Paz, Lake Titicaca, and Potosi.
Brazil
Bates, Henry Walter, 1825–1892. The Naturalist on the River Amazons: A Record of Adventures, Habits of Animals, Sketches of Brazilian and Indian Life and Aspects of Nature Under the Equator. London: J. Murray: 1863. Henry Walter Bates was a notable english naturalist and explorer who is best known for an expedition into the Amazon Rainforest, which he led alongside Alfred Russel Wallace in 1848. After spending 11 years in Brazil, Bates was able to collect 14,712 different samples of species, most of those being insects. At the end of this trip he wrote down most of his experiences and discoveries from Brazil in his most notable book called The Naturalist on the River Amazons. Burton, Richard Francis, Sir, 1821-1890. Explorations of the Highlands of the Brazil; with a Full Account of the Gold and Diamond Mines. Also, Canoeing down 1500 miles of the Great River São Francisco, from Sabará to the Sea. London: Tinsley Brothers, 1869. Callcott, Maria, Lady, 1785-1842. Journal of a Voyage to Brazil, and Residence There, During Part of the Years 1821, 1822, 1823. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green 1824. A. P. D. G. Sketches of Portuguese Life, Manners, Costume, and Character: Illustrated by Twenty Coloured Plates. London: printed for Geo. B. Whittaker by R. Gilbert, St. John's Square, 1826. The text includes chapter XVII with descriptions of Black life in Rio de Janeiro. Koster, Henry, 1793-ca. 1820. Travels in Brazil. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, and Brown, 1816. Smith, Herbert H., 1851–1919. Brazil, the Amazons, & the Coast. New York: C. Scribner's Sons, 1879. Spix, Johann Baptist von, 1781-1826. Travels in Brazil, in the years 1817-1820. Undertaken by command of His Majesty the King of Bavaria. London: Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green,1824. Stewart, C. S. (Charles Samuel), 1795–1870. Brazil & La Plata: Personal Record of a Cruise. New York: G.P. Putnam & co., 1856.
Central America
Byam, George. Wild Life in the Interior of Central America. London: J. W. Parker, 1849. Written by George Byam – an officer in the 43rd Regiment of the British Army – in 1849, Wild Life in the Interior of Central America provides information on the species, geography, and minerals Byam encountered traveling from El Realejo, Nicaragua to the Caribbean Sea. Throughout his account, Byam details the differences between his own perceptions of volcanoes, trophy-hunting, and wildlife with that of the native inhabitants of the region. Corlett, William Thomas, 1854-1948. The American Tropics: Notes from the Log of a Midwinter Cruise. Cleveland: The Burrows Brothers, 1908.
Chile
Ball, John, 1818-1889. Notes of a Naturalist in South America. London, K. Paul, Trench & Co.: 1887. John Ball was an Irish naturalist, politician and founder of the Alpine club, he traveled South America in 1882 and made biological observations as well as social commentary on his experience in Latin America. In his book “Notes of a Naturalist in South America”, John Ball documents his experiences and observations in multiple South American countries, notably Peru and Chile. Callcott, Maria, Lady, 1785-1842. Journal of a Residence in Chile, during the year 1822: and a Voyage from Chile to Brazil in 1823. London: Printed for Longman, Hurst, Rees, Orme, Brown, and Green, 1824. Maria Graham was a travel writer, illustrator, children’s book author, and intellectual. She is known for her many travel books, including her Journal of Residence in Chile, which records the events of her years living in Chile as well as her travels to Brazil during 1823. Child, Theodore, 1846-1892. The Spanish-American Republics. New York: Harper & Brothers, 1891. Schmidtmeyer, Peter. Travels into Chile, over the Andes, in the years 1820 and 1821... London: Printed by S. McDowall, 95, Leadenhall Street for the author, 1824. Smith, Edmond Reuel. The Araucanians or, Notes of a Tour among the Indian Tribes of Southern Chili. New York: Harper, 1855.
Colombia
Millican, Albert. Travels and Adventures of an Orchid hunter. An Account of Canoe and Camp Life in Colombia, while Collecting Orchids in the Northern Andes. London: Cassell & Company, Limited, 1891. Albert Millican was an English orchid hunter, who made several trips to South America between 1888-1891 and made observations as well as social commentary about the natural land as well as the people he encountered. In his book “Travels and Adventures of an Orchid Hunter” Albert Millican documents some moments from his five journeys from England to Colombia in search of orchids. Mollien, Gaspard Théodore, comte de, 1796-1872. Travels in the Republic of Colombia: in the Years 1822 and 1823. London: C. Knight, 1824. Petre, Francis Loraine, 1852-. The Republic of Colombia: an Account of the Country, its People, its Institutions and its Resources. London, E. Stanford, 1906. Tompkins, Ellen A. On the Magdalena River: Seen on a Trip from Barranquilla to Bogotá, Colombia. New York City: Woman's Board of Foreign Missions, 1922. Walker, Alexander. Colombia: Being a Geographical, Statistical, Agricultural, Commercial, and Political Account of that Country. London: Baldwin, Cradock, and Joy, 1822. Wilson, Erastus, 1829-1910. A Ramble in New Granada. New York: [G.W. Carleton & Co.], 1878.
Costa Rica
Calvert, Amelia Smith, b. 1876 and Phillip Powell Calvert. A Year of Costa Rican Natural History. New York: The Macmillan company: 1917.
Cuba
Baker, Frank Collins, 1867-1942. A Naturalist in Mexico: Being a Visit to Cuba, Northern Yucatan and Mexico. Chicago: D. Oliphant, 1895. Ballou, Maturin Murray. History of Cuba: or, Notes of a Traveller in the Tropics. Being a Political, Historical, and Statistical Account of the Island, from its First Discovery to the Present Time. Boston: Phillips, Sampson, 1854. Maturin Murray Ballou, a journalist and the owner of his own paper, Ballou’s Monthly Magazine, visited many places and created travel accounts throughout his life, one of them being Cuba. The following travelogue is an account of Cuba from its early periods to the 1850s, which contains many aspects such as history, slavery, the evolution of politics, culture, etc. Howe, Julia Ward. A Trip to Cuba. Boston: Ticknor, 1860. Julia Howe Ward, an author, abolitionist, and social activist shares with her readers of the travelogue A trip to Cuba her experiences throughout the time she visited the country. Married to Samuel Gridley Howe, the mother of six children reports her discoveries along the way. The big journey of the author and her crew starts off in Nassau, in the Bahamas, from where they will then be transported to Cuba. She describes it as being “dragged along like a miserable thread pulled through the eye of an everlasting needle.” Humboldt, Alexander von, 1769-1859. The Island of Cuba. New York: Derby & Jackson, 1856. Alexander von Humboldt, a German Enlightenment-era scientist, wrote The Island of Cuba to survey the climate, people, and economy of Cuba from a scientific and liberal lens. In the work, he devotes a chapter to the system of slavery in Cuba, and he asserts an abolitionist stance, vocalizing his worries that, if action is not taken, Cuba will have a slave revolt akin to Haiti. Rawson, James. Cuba. New York: Lane & Tippett, 1847.
Dominican Republic
Day, Susan de Forest. "Chapter XI: Santo Domingo" The Cruise of the Scythian in the West Indies. New YorkL F. T. Neely, 1899. Chapter XI of the Cruise of the Scythian in the West Indies is a travelogue by American author Susan De Forest Day, who sails to Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic in the late 19th century. Her account of the Dominican Republic is included along with travel accounts of several other Caribbean Islands, including Jamaica and St. Lucia.
Ecuador
Enock, Charles Reginald, 1868-. Ecuador, its Ancient and Modern History, Topography and Natural Resources, Industries and Social Development. London: Unwin, 1919.