Humboldt and Jefferson wrote several letters to each other. Jefferson to Humboldt: "...[your work on south america] comes out too at a moment when those countr

Humboldt and Jefferson wrote several letters to each other. Jefferson to Humboldt: "...[your work on south america] comes out too at a moment when those countries are beginning to be interesting to the whole world. They are now becoming the scenes of political revolution, to take their stations as integral members, of the great family of nations. All are now in insurrection. In several the Independents are already triumphant, and they will undoubtedly be so in all. What kind of government will they establish? How much liberty can they bear without intoxication? Are their chiefs sufficiently enlightened to form a well guarded government, and their people to watch their chiefs? Have they mind enough to place their domesticated Indians on a footing with the whites?" Complicated and interesting!