humboldt in cuba
Alexander von Humboldt’s Political Essay on the Island of Cuba
Humboldt’s Political Essay on the Island of Cuba is one of the founding texts of nineteenth-century Cuba. For Humboldt, Cuba was a microcosm of the New World. Foreseeing the social problems to come, his book called for social and economic reform. Because he adopted a strong stand against slavery and the slave trade, the book became the most controversial of Humboldt’s publications in its day.
HiE’s edition of the Essai Politique sur l’île de Cuba is the only complete English edition of Humboldt’s revised work on Cuba. Our Political Essay on the Island of Cuba is based on the freestanding edition of the Essai Politique. See the Essai’s publication history.
Topics for Humboldt in Cuba:
- Publication History
- Humboldt in Cuba
- Cuban Networks
- Mapping Cuba
- Brief Timeline: The Political Essay in Cuba
- Cuba, Slavery, and the U.S. Annexation Debate
- Humboldt-Thrasher Controversy
- Textual Comparisons
- Other Documents
