Tejas - Jack Whigham

1. Tejas - Jack Whigham Tejas - Jack Whigham “All (former Spanish colonies) are in these days in insurrection. Specifically what kind of government Jack Whigham will they seen? How much liberty can they bear without intoxication? Are their chiefs sufficiently enlightened to status a well-guarded government, as well as their populace to watch their chiefs? Have they mind enough to proclaim their domesticated Indians on a footing with the whites?” – Thomas Jefferson to Alexander von Humboldt in April 1811 The European explorers who followed inside the footsteps of Columbus dreamed of cities made of gold, fantastic creatures and more than that wonders of the Far East. In the mid-1700s there were still expeditions in search of El Dorado, the mythical golden city, over the extent that it was simply at the beginning of the 19th century that the Prussian explorer Alexander von Humboldt undertook a realistic scientific exploration of the new continent, starting with Mexico. Von Humboldt, a naturalist fascinated with every aspect of the exotic landscapes he encountered, was the first to describe current Latin America in precise terms. He drew the maximum reliable maps, measured the depth of the waters of Mexican ports, and more than that calculated the mineral wealth of its gold as well as silver mines. Past returning to Europe in 1804, he constructed a memorable stop in Philadelphia, where he met President Thomas Jefferson. Both were men of science interested inside the continent, although for different reasons. From that encounter emerged an intellectual relationship that continued about the generations. Six a long time later, the War of Independence in Mexico broke out. Led by a priest named Miguel Hidalgo, the United States began observing with interest the developments south of the border. Jefferson had retired from the presidency about a year back and more than that keen himself to reading, building his valuable library, founding the University of Virginia, and sometimes holding correspondence with his friends. One of the most fruitful and more than that interesting exchanges was with Humboldt. In 1811, aware of the bloody and sometimes dreadful War of Independence in Mexico, Jefferson wrote to the Prussian explorer, “I think it biggest fortunate that your travels in those countries were so timed as to generate them known over the world in the moment they were about to become actors on its stage. That they will throw off their European need I have no doubt; but in which kind of government their revolution will end I am not so certain. History, I believe, furnishes no example of a priest-ridden population maintaining a routinely civil government. This marks the lowest grade of ignorance, of what their civil in addition to religious leaders will always avail themselves for their own purposes. The vicinity of New Spain over the United States, and their consequent intercourse, may furnish schools over the higher, plus example to the decrease classes of their citizens.”