The Invention of Nature

It wasn’t looking better elsewhere. Simón Bolívar had realized that building nations was far more difficult than fighting wars. By the time Humboldt had moved to Berlin, several colonies had succeeded in overthrowing Spanish rule. Republics had been declared in Mexico, the Federal Republic of Central America, Argentina and Chile as well as those under the leadership of Bolívar: Greater Colombia (which included Venezuela, Panama, Ecuador and New Granada), Bolivia and Peru. But Bolívar’s vision of a league of free nations in Latin America was crumbling as old allies turned against him.

His pan-American congress in the summer of 1826 had only been attended by four of the Latin American republics. Instead of marking the beginning of a Federation of the Andes, stretching from Panama in the north to Bolivia in the south, it had been a complete failure. The former colonies showed no interest in being united. Worse was to come when news reached Bolívar, in spring 1827, that his troops in Peru had rebelled. And instead of supporting El Libertador, his old friend and Vice-President of Colombia Francisco de Paula Santander praised this revolt and demanded Bolívar’s removal from the presidency. As one of Bolívar’s confidants put it, they had entered an ‘era of blunders’. Humboldt also believed that Bolívar had granted himself far too many dictatorial powers. Of course South America owed a great deal to Bolívar but his authoritarian ways were ‘illegal, unconstitutional and somewhat like that of Napoleon’, as Humboldt told a Colombian scientist and diplomat.

Nor was Humboldt much more optimistic about North America. The last of the old guard of the founding fathers had gone when Thomas Jefferson and John Adams had died, in perfect synchrony, on the same day, the Fourth of July 1826 and the fiftieth anniversary of the Declaration of Independence. Humboldt had always admired Jefferson for the country he had helped to forge but despaired that not enough had been done regarding the abolition of slavery. When the US Congress had passed the Missouri Compromise in 1820, another door had been opened for slave owners. As the republic expanded and new states were founded and admitted, there had been heated discussions about the issue of slavery. Humboldt was disappointed that the Missouri Compromise permitted new states that were south of 36º30’ latitude (roughly the same latitude as the border between Tennessee and Kentucky) to extend slavery into their territories. Until the end of his life, Humboldt would tell North American visitors, correspondents and newspapers how shocked he was that the ‘influence of slavery is increasing’.

Weary with politics and revolutions, Humboldt now withdrew into the world of science. And when he received a letter from a representative of the Mexican government requesting his assistance in some trade negotiations between Europe and Mexico, his answer was unambiguous. His ‘estrangement from politics’, he wrote, didn’t permit his involvement. From now on, he would focus on nature and science, and on education. He wanted to help people unlock the power of the intellect. ‘With knowledge comes thought,’ he said, and with thought comes ‘power’.

On 3 November 1827, less than six months after his arrival in Berlin, Humboldt began a series of sixty-one lectures at the university. These proved so popular that he added another sixteen at Berlin’s music hall – the Singakademie – from 6 December. For six months he delivered lectures several days a week. Hundreds of people attended each talk, which Humboldt presented without reading from his notes. It was lively, exhilarating and utterly new. By not charging any entry fee, Humboldt democratized science: his packed audiences ranged from the royal family to coachmen, from students to servants, from scholars to bricklayers – and half of those attending were women.