From Cumaná to Santa Ana. Aimé Bonpland’s relashionship with Americas

Abstract

Bonpland’s relashionship with Americas leads us to reflect about the necessary conditions for the transfer of a science and the ideology it bears. In favour of the independence of the Rio de la Plata, imbued with a political culture that puts forward the necessity of a strong state thus enabling a nation to be stable and to shine forth, Bonpland faces the instability that characterizes the political construction of this region. By following his path, we witness the union of a naturalist leading a project based on the universalist pattern of the European science with the Rio de la Plata elites who want to implement a specific policy based on the use of natural resources for internal development. We are also witnessing a transformation of a traveler into a migrant.