A contemporary manuscript in which Antonio Pineda, chiefnaturalist on board the Malaspina expedition, analyses the marine wildlife of South America and describes the manner in which this research was carried out

A contemporary manuscript in which Antonio Pineda, chiefnaturalist on board the Malaspina expedition, analyses the marine wildlife of South America and describes the manner in which this research was carried out

PINEDA Y RAMÍREZ, Antonio [Manuscript on the marine natural history of the Malaspina Expedition, 1789–94.] c. 1789. Folio, 29 x 21 cm, ff. [28], [4, blank]. It covers the stretch of Malaspina’s voyage that begins with the extended stay in the River Plate area, the journey south to Montevideo, then east to Port Egmont in the Falkland Islands and from there round Cape Horn and up the Pacific coast to Chiloe. It also includes observations on the marine life of Trinidad as made by the naval officers José de Mazarredo Salazar (1745–1812) and Juan Francisco de Lángara y Huarte (1736–1806) during their survey of the island. The manuscript illustrates the many activities of the naturalists on board the Malaspina expedition, describing and including observations on, for example: a large mass of jellyfish which, swimming in the River Plate area, completely altered the colour of the sea; the discovery of a previously unknown species (which Antonio Pineda named ‘Medusa Trepidans’); and the capture of a large shark which was brought onto the deck of the Atrevida and dissected by Pineda. This manuscript amply demonstrates the scientific practice of this Spanish voyage of exploration, which, under the command of Alejandro Malaspina (1754–1810), is considered, perhaps more than any other of the period, to represent ‘the high ideals and scientific interests of the Enlightenment’ (Donald C. Cutter, ‘Introduction’ in David, A., F. Fernández-Armesto, C. Novi and G. Williams, The Malaspina Expedition 1789–1794: Journal of the voyage by Alejandro Malaspina, London, The Hakluyt Society, 2001, vol. I,p. xvii).