Abstract

GRAFENSTEIN, Johanna von. Impressions of the scientist, naturalist, and traveler Félix Leonard Oswald. Rivers and jungles in the western basin of the Laguna de Términos, second half of the 19th century. Latinoamérica [online]. 2026, n.82, pp.209-236.  Epub Mar 23, 2026. ISSN 2448-6914.  https://doi.org/10.22201/cialc.24486914e.2026.82.57771.

ABSTRACT: This article analyzes the perceptions of a traveler of Belgian origin, Felix Leonard Oswald, who traveled through Mexico, Guatemala, and Honduras in the 1860s and 1870s. Based on travel literature, natural, environmental, and sensory history, it addresses the relationship between the traveler and nature: his assessments of the natural landscape and the 'human landscape' in the surroundings of the Usumacinta River. Likewise, and in accordance with the scientific naturalist thinking of Alexander von Humboldt, Henry David Thoreau, and Charles Darwin, the article presents the racist conceptions of the era among European and North American travelers, aspects nuanced by the illustrations that accompany Oswald's travel book.

Keywords : Travel stories; Natural and Environmental History; Perceptions; 19th-century travelers; River landscapes; Usumacinta River.

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