In Riobamba, I am particularly thankful to Adela Irene Moscoso Valarezo, director of the Colegio de Isabel Godin. In an interview, she provided much insight into how extraordinary it was for a woman of eighteenth-century Peru to make the journey that Isabel did and into why Isabel remains an inspiration to the school’s students today. Finally, in Quito, the friendly staff at Casa Sol made the bed-and-breakfast feel like home while I did research there.
I owe a tremendous debt to Amanda Cook, my editor at Basic Books. At the outset, she helped me conceive of how to tell the story, and once I turned in a first draft, she improved it in innumerable ways. She also provided much-appreciated encouragement and guidance throughout the time I was working on the book. I am also grateful to Kathy Delfosse for the skillful copy-editing and to the many others at Perseus who make it such a wonderful house for writers. And as always, my agent Jane Dystel provided me with thoughtful advice and help throughout this lengthy process, starting with the shaping of the initial proposal.
Finally, I am thankful to my wife, Andrea, and my three children, Rabi, Zoey, and Dylan, for their continued love and support.
Index
Acuña, Cristóbal de, 181, 184, 190, 193, 258
Aguirre, Lope de, 179
Almagro, Diego de, 171
Alsedo y Herrera, Dionesio de, 88, 95–96, 102, 112, 298
and La Condamine, 99–102
replacement of, 109–110
Altar volcano, 173–174
Altitude measurements, 68, 122
Amadís de Gaula, 36–37
Amazon River, 3, 164, 169, 175–193, 200, 206, 258, 279
discovery of mouth of, 175
maps of, 183(illus.), 185(illus.), 188, 193(illus.), 195(illus.)
population decline along, 193
See also Marañón River
Amazons (women warriors), 38, 40, 43–44, 44(illus.), 58, 175, 178, 182, 190
Andes mountains, 80, 88, 90–91, 118, 119, 164, 170, 175, 176, 195, 226, 124, 272
Guanacas Pass, 158
Andoas (mission station), 231, 239, 240, 243, 251, 253, 262, 264, 274, 275–276
Animals. See Wildlife
Ants, 256–257, 258, 270
Aparia the Great, 177
Araujo y Río, Joseph de, 110, 111–113, 298
Aristotle, 9, 14
Armendáriz, José de (Marqués de Castelfuerte), 32, 33, 298
Atahualpa (Inca ruler), 40–41, 42, 43(illus.), 94, 124
Auschwitz survivors, 271–272
Aztecs, 39, 54
Azuays, 129–130, 131
Baños (town), 232, 234, 235, 237, 267
Barbasco root, 191
Barometers, 66, 68, 79, 115, 122, 129
Barry, David, 289
Bats, 240, 243, 250, 259
Belém do Pará, 179. See also Pará
Benalcázar, Sebastián de, 94
Benavides José, 102
Bernoulli, Johann, 26, 29, 126, 298
Birds, 234, 242, 248, 250, 259
Biscay, Acarete du, 59
Blechynden, Thomas, 113
Bobonaza River, 237, 238, 240–242, 243–245, 249, 252(illus.), 254, 257, 275
Bogé, Phelipe, 230, 244, 246, 262, 263
Botflies, 258, 274, 281
Bouguer, Pierre, 29, 47, 49–50, 49(illus.), 51, 60, 64, 65, 66, 67, 68, 70–71, 77, 78, 80–81, 82, 83, 89, 83, 96, 101, 103, 109, 114, 115, 117, 120, 121, 125–126, 128–129, 130, 142, 145, 158, 162, 163, 164, 166
death of, 287
disparagement of La Condamine, 196–197
Bourbon kings, 60, 61, 107
Brazil, 229
Bridges, 86–87, 90, 96, 186, 232, 235, 236(illus.)
Bry, Theodore de, 55, 56(illus.)
Buffon, Georges Leclerc de, 208, 292, 298–299
Bullfighting, 142–143, 174
Burnet, Thomas, 25
Burriel, Andres, 197
Canada, 220
Cañar (town), 130
Candiru fish, 249
Canelos (village), 231, 235, 237, 238–240
Cannibalism, 251
Caoutchouc, 163
Carib Indians, 67. 206
Carletti, Francesco, 56, 58–59
Carmelites, 193, 201
Cartagena, Peru, 71, 72–75, 99, 158, 159, 199
Carvajal, Gaspar de, 44, 177, 178, 190
Cassini, Jean-Dominique, 18, 19–20, 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 102, 103, 126, 194, 299
son of (Jacques), 19–20, 21, 102, 103, 126, 194, 299
Caste system, 74, 140
Castillo, Bernal Díaz del, 39, 54
Cathedrals/churches, 94, 96, 171
Catholic Church, 21, 22, 36, 39
and child brides, 151
See also Christianity; Jesuits; Virgin Mary
Cayambe, plain of, 103, 104
Cayenne, French Guiana, 194, 202, 206, 208, 214, 215, 285
Celestial observations. See Latitude, and measuring altitude of sun or star
Censorship, 55–56
Chagres River, 77, 78, 79(illus.)
Chambo River, 231
Chapetones, 112
Charles II (King of Spain), 60, 69
Chastity, 37
Chatas (barges), 77–78
Châtelet, Gabrielle-Émilie du, 28
Children, 73, 74, 128, 151, 170. See also Convent schools
Choiseul, Étienne-François de, 220, 220(n), 221, 222, 283, 284, 299
Choiseul-Praslin, Cesar-Gabriel de, 284, 299
Christianity, 8, 11, 37, 174, 182, 218. See also Catholic Church; Huguenots
Chronicle of Don Roderick, 38
Chuchunga River, 186
Cinchona trees, 110–111, 186, 194, 195, 212
Clairaut, Alexis-Claude, 27, 51, 126, 127, 299
Clothing, 97–98, 98(illus.), 101, 102, 193, 251, 254, 262, 276
Colbert, Jean-Baptiste, 16, 17
Columbus, Christopher, 13, 67
Compasses, 12–13, 189
Concubines, 45, 229
Condorcet, Jean, 50
Conquistadors, 38–43, 54, 82, 89, 176
cruelty of, 55, 56(illus.)
Contraband, selling of, 112(n)
Convent schools, 34, 46, 108, 151, 217
Copernicus, Nicholas, 21
Corregidors, 33, 88, 138, 146, 217, 279
Cortés, Hernando, 38–40, 54
Couplet (expedition assistant), 52, 53, 79, 98, 103–104, 287
Creoles, 32, 45, 112, 113, 140, 141, 151, 157, 161
Crespo, Juan Jiménez, 136–137, 142, 143
Cuba, 38
Cuenca, Peru, 129, 131, 134, 135–137, 142, 145, 146, 147, 149, 165, 185
Curare, 189
Cuzco region, 40, 42
Daniel, João, 182, 193
Davalos, Joseph, 128
Dehydration, 261, 270–271
Delille, Jacques, 197
Desaguliers, John Theophilus, 27
Descartes, René, 8, 22–23, 24, 27, 28, 299
D’Herouville (Count), 222, 225, 299
Diguja, Joseph, 265–266, 299
Discourse on Method (Descartes), 8, 22
Discourses on Two Sciences (Galileo), 22
Discurso y reflexiones políticos sobre el estado presente de los reynos del Peru (Ulloa), 289
Disease, 76–77, 182, 206. See also Malaria; Smallpox; Yellow fever
Donner Party, 261(n)
D’Oreasaval, Tristan, 225, 226, 277, 284–285, 299
D’Orvilliers, Gilbert Guillouet, 202, 206, 209, 211, 212, 214, 299
Dowries, 160, 172
Drake, Sir Francis, 72
Dunezat (commander of Cayenne), 214–215
Dutch Guiana, 194
Earth
circumference of, 9–10, 11, 13, 18, 20, 24, 62, 102, 103
rotation of, 194
size/shape of, 7, 8–9, 11, 12, 14, 15, 20, 21, 24, 25–26, 29, 30, 51, 61, 62, 70, 102–103, 126, 162, 166, 194
Eclipses, 163
Eisenschmidt, Samuel,
25
El Cid, 35
El Dorado, 57, 58, 175, 176, 179, 190
Elites, 152, 172, 199, 218, 227. See also under Quito
Emeralds, 82–83, 101
Encomienda system, 39, 54, 137
England, 25, 26, 36, 54, 60, 179, 199, 220
British Armada, 157, 159
Royal Society of London, 27, 66, 197
Enlightenment movement, 7–8, 36, 122, 142, 167, 190
Entretiens sur la pluralisté des mondes (Fontenelle), 23
Eratosthenes, 9
Escabo, Manuel de, 102
Esmeraldas/Esmeraldas River, 89, 93, 163
Expedition to equator, 29–30, 47, 51–52, 290
end of, 169–170
illness/deaths during, 68–69, 104, 115, 125, 157, 198
letters to, 125, 126
members of, 52, 63, 287–288, 297
money problems of, 100–101, 109, 125, 158, 170
scientific equipment for, 48, 52, 63, 66–67, 76, 79, 90, 95, 115, 147
Spanish conditions for, 62–63
tensions among leaders of, 70–71, 78, 80–81, 125, 157, 184
voyage to Quito, 69(illus.)
Feijoo, Benito Jerónimo, 61
Ferdinand III (Castilian king), 35
Fernel, Jean, 14
Fiedmont (Governor), 219, 222–223, 224, 283, 299–300
Fontenelle, Bernard Le Bovier de, 23, 26, 27–28
Food(s), 78, 79, 90, 96, 161, 172, 177, 178, 181, 232, 235, 243, 246, 250, 252, 254, 275
in rain forests, 258–260
Forsyth, Adrian, 256
Fort Curupa, 202, 281
France, 25, 26, 36, 54, 69, 108, 142, 160, 175, 179, 206–207, 214, 219, 229
arrival of Jean and Isabel Godin in, 286
Compagnie Royale de la Mer Pacifique, 60
French Academy of Sciences, 7, 8, 16–18, 20, 22, 25–26, 27, 28, 20, 47, 48, 66, 111, 119, 126, 194, 197, 198, 208, 287, 288, 292, 297
overseas empire of, 220
Paris, 8, 14, 18
Paris observatory, 18, 19(illus.)
See also under Maps
Franciscan monks, 180
French Guiana, 2, 3, 61, 202, 205–206, 292
colonists sent to, 220
See also Guiana; individual towns
Frezier, Amadée, 59
Frisius, Gemma, 14
Fritz, Samuel, 183–184, 194
Froidevaux, Henri, 209
Galelei, Galileo, 15–16. 18, 22
Games, 174
Gnomon, 189
Godin, Isabel, 2–3, 149
death of, 295
described, 4, 154, 281
illness of, 284
and Jean Rocha, 277–278, 279
journey to meet Jean Godin, 3–5, 229–242
letter concerning Joaquín’s freedom, 279–280
maids of, 230, 252
members of traveling party, 298
nephew of, 294
pregnancies/children of, 161, 169, 170, 175, 200, 211, 215–216, 217, 218, 226. 298
properties owned by, 172, 217, 229
religious faith of, 218, 244, 271, 273, 278
reunion with Jean Godin, 281–282
statue of, 2
stranded on sandbars and in rain forest, 242–255, 257–258, 261–262, 269–271
See also Gramesón, Isabel
Godin, Jean, 2–3, 52–53, 64, 79, 86, 107, 108, 114, 149, 156, 157–161, 198, 253, 254, 266, 279
attempt to return to France, 199–203. See also Godin Jean, passports for
brother of, 286
business ventures of, 170, 175, 219, 283, 284, 285, 292
death of, 294
inventory of Cayenne forests by, 208
and La Condamine, 169, 200, 201, 208, 210, 219–220, 286, 292–293, 295
marriage of, 160–161
as official geographer of expedition, 293
passports for, 202, 208, 209, 210, 211–212, 215, 219
proposal that France seize northern banks of the Amazon, 206–208, 212–214, 220–221
reunion with Isabel Godin, 281–282
as signal carrier, 118–120, 130, 158, 169
will of, 293–294
See also under La Condamine, Charles-Marie de
Godin, Louis, 29, 47–49, 51, 64, 65, 66, 70–71, 77, 78, 80–81, 95, 98, 100–101, 103, 109, 114, 147, 157, 158, 198, 287–288
death of, 287, 288
illness of, 125
Gold/silver, 39, 41, 42, 43, 54, 58–59. 93, 111, 124, 176, 190, 212
Gorjaô, Francis Mendoza, 201
Graham, George, 48, 147
Gramesón, Isabel, 30, 34, 46, 108
brothers/parents of, 4, 31–33, 174, 216, 217–218, 225, 229, 230, 238, 244, 245, 252, 253, 254, 257, 261, 269, 297–298. See also Gramesón y Bruno, Pedro Manuel
dowry of, 160, 217
engagement/marriage to Jean Godin, 160–161
sister of, 174–175, 229, 285–286
See also Godin, Isabel
Gramesón, Joaquín (slave), 226, 229–230, 244, 246, 262–266, 277, 280
release from prison, 285–286
Gramesón, Martin, 229, 253, 254, 257, 261
Gramesón y Bruno, Pedro Manuel, 32–33, 107–108, 149, 160, 174, 217, 238, 277, 280, 285
death of, 293
Granada, 36, 155(n)
Grandmaison, Jean-Antoine, 294, 295
Gravity, 20, 21, 23, 24–25, 28, 48, 62, 115, 127, 164, 194
and altitude, 121–122
Greece (ancient), 8–9, 10, 15, 21
Guaranda (village), 88
Guayaquil, Peru, 32–33, 82, 84, 89, 154
Guerrero, Tomás, 102
Guiana, 57, 179, 190, 214. See also French Guiana; Dutch Guiana
Hadley, John, 66
Halley, Edmond, 48
Hapsburg kings, 60
Henriquez de Ribera, Francisca, 110
Hipparchus, 10
Hispaniola, 68, 69
Holland, 26, 36, 54, 179. See also Netherlands
Honor, 101
Hormaegui (Jesuit rector), 101
Howler monkeys, 239–240, 250
Huayna Capac (Inca ruler), 40, 94
Hugo (instrument maker), 52, 118, 147, 155, 157, 161, 164, 169, 198, 287
Huguenots, 26–27
Humboldt, Alexander von, 234, 256
Huygens, Christiaan, 16, 17, 23, 26
Illness. See Disease; Expedition to equator, illness/deaths during
Incas, 40, 94, 119, 170, 176
Indians, 45, 93–94, 116, 117, 120, 121, 124, 148–149, 173, 177–178, 180, 181, 209, 227, 258
of Andoas, 263, 264, 279
of Canelos, 238–239, 240, 242, 243, 245, 251, 273–274
exploitation/physical abuse of, 137–140, 176, 229, 289
Isabel’s Indian rescuers, 273–274, 275–276
in Isabel’s traveling group, 230, 232, 235–236, 239, 240
revolts of, 199, 218, 228
traditional customs of, 192
See also individual Indian groups
Indicopleustes, Cosmas, 11
Insecticides, 259
Insects, 75, 83, 86, 176, 205, 247, 250, 251, 259, 260, 262, 275. See also Ants; Botflies; Mosquitoes; under Rain forest
Isabella and Ferdinand (Iberian rulers), 36
Jaen, 184, 186
Jaguars, 248–249, 259
Jenkins, Robert, 157(n)
Jesuits, 99, 100, 101, 102, 128, 140, 145, 166, 181, 182, 193, 209, 211, 225, 226, 238
expulsion from Peru, 228–229, 276
Jews, 35, 36
Jibaros Indians, 186–187, 187(n), 191–192, 251, 258, 265
Joaquín. See Gramesón, Joaquín
Journal du voyage fait par ordre du roi à l’équateur (La Condamine), 291
Juan y Santacilia, Jorge, 71, 72, 73, 75, 76, 77, 81, 84, 87, 96, 104, 105, 121, 137, 138–139, 144, 227, 288
and Araujo, 112–113
dispute with La Condamine,
155–157
return to Europe, 197, 289
Jupiter (planet), 20, 25
moons of, 15–16, 18, 19, 188
Jussieu, Joseph de, 52, 67, 69, 71, 77, 78, 79, 118, 129, 145, 157, 198–199
return to Paris and death of, 288
Kepler, Johannes, 21, 24
Knights, 34, 35, 36–38, 39, 45, 59, 152
Kricher, John, 257
La Cerda, Commander, 210
La Condamine, Charles-Marie de, 47, 50–51, 51(illus.), 51–52, 61, 63, 64, 65, 66, 67, 70–71, 76, 77, 78, 79, 80–81, 82, 83, 96, 103, 110, 113, 114, 115, 120, 121, 128, 130, 136, 141, 148–149, 154, 155
dispute with Ulloa and Juan, 155–157, 165
eulogized, 292
final years, 290–292
illness of, 68–69
and Jean Godin. See Godin, Jean, and La Condamine
and murder of Senièrgues, 144, 155, 165, 185
and Pardo de Figueroa, 107
publications by, 291
return to France, 194–197
and rubber/platinum/quinquina, 163, 191, 195
sale of personal belongings, 101–102
title page of book by, 196(illus.)
treatise on cinchona tree and leaves, 110–111
trip to Quito, 89–91, 98–100
trunk of curiosities of, 158–159
voyage down Amazon River, 184–193
Laguna del Colta, 170
Laguna Ishpingococha, 249
Lagunas (village), 183, 184, 188, 191, 225, 265, 276, 277, 284
Lake Parima, 58, 190
Langlois, Claude, 48, 117
Languages, 53, 79, 128, 154, 201, 216. See also Quechua language
Lapland expedition, 70, 126, 127, 128, 162, 166, 167
Las Casas, Bartolomé de, 54
Latitude, 10, 11, 13, 14, 18. 19, 20–21, 29, 51, 70, 91, 102–103, 114, 126, 129
determining at sea, 66, 67
and measuring altitude of sun or star, 133, 147, 148, 149, 154, 155, 161–162, 189
L’Aventure (ship), 208, 209
Leach, John, 271, 272–273
Lemaire, Marc, 295
Lemoyne (deputy to d’Orvilliers), 212, 214
Leon, Diego de, 136, 146, 165, 186
León, Pedro Cieza de, 171
León Portocarrero, Pedro de, 59
Letters, 125, 126, 203, 208, 209–210, 211, 214(n), 214–215, 216, 219–220, 221, 222, 224, 225, 277, 278, 279–280, 283, 284, 286, 292, 295
Letters of credit, 100, 109, 110, 113
Lettres philosophiques (Voltaire), 28–29
Lima, Peru, 99, 110, 111–112, 128, 155, 184, 199
Liripamba (Inca town), 170–171
Loneliness, 125
The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon Page 33