The reign of Doctor Joseph Gaspard Roderick de Francia in Paraguay;: Being an account of a six years' residence in that republic, from July 1819 to May 1825

Author: Johann Rudolph Rengger (1795-1832) and Marcelin Francois Xavier Longchamps

Year: 1827

Publisher: Thomas Hurst, Edward Chance & Co

Place: London

Description:

xvi+208 pages. Octavo (8 3/4" x 5 1/2") bound Contemporary quarter green cloth and plain boards, paper lettering piece on spine. (Naylor A16, Sabin 69615) First edition.

Johann Rudolph Rengger was a Swiss naturalist and doctor, author of a book on exploration in Paraguay with Marcelin Longchamps. After a stay in Paris, Rengger decided, together with doctor M. Longchamp from the canton of Vaud, to undertake a research trip to South America. In 1818, they embarked in Le Havre and arrived in Buenos-Aires. Here, their attention soon turned on to the secure conditions of Paraguay. So they went up to the Entre Ríos Province, waited for eight months in Corrientes because the leader Artigas had blocked the stream traffic, and didn't reach Asunción until 1819.

The pair based themselves at Asunción for six years and made a series of expeditions throughout Paraguay, writing extensively on the natural history of the country. From its independence until 1840, Paraguay was largely isolated from the rest of the world due to the policies of the dictator José Gaspar Rodríguez de Francia, otherwise known as El Supremo, a play on his title 'Supreme and Perpetual Dictator', and although Rengger and Longchamp were able to travel the country, they had to do so under strict supervision. In 1825, the two men unexpectedly received a permit to leave the country with only a few hours' notice, leading them to abandon many of the specimens they had collected in the rush.

Returning to Europe in February 1826, Rengger and Longchamp set about writing accounts of their time in Paraguay. While determined to publish their natural history findings (finally printed in 1830), they were persuaded first to write accounts of de Francia, a figure whose personality and actions were of great interest to European readers. Having first been partly serialised as 'Doctor Francia' in the journal Stuttgarter Morgenblatt in 1827, the full account was published in Paris later in the year under the title Essai historique sur la révolution du Paraguay et le gouvernement dictatorial du Doctor Francia (see RCIN 1145744). This English edition was published the same year.

Condition:

Rubbed and soiled, light scattered spotting else very good.