Of Fish and Men: Spanish Marine Science During the Late Eighteenth Century

Tadeo Haenke, Antonio Pineda, and José Mariano Moziño are little-known names in Pacific Ocean studies. Nevertheless, as part of the expeditions of Alejandro Maiaspina (1789-1794) and the Royal Scientific Expedition to New Spain (1785-1803), they stand alongside their European counter-parts ¹ as contributors to the scientific and ethnographic knowledge of the Pacific, its islands, and coastal areas. Yet these men failed to receive widespread recognition for their accomplishments, even in scientific circles, because a combination of unfortunate circumstances greeted their expeditions' return to Europe. Primarily, Spain's investigators were denied the essential 172ingredient for recognition—the publication and dissemination of new knowledge throughout the world. Only Alexander von Humboldt, who in the late 1790s often followed in the footsteps of these Spaniards, praised their contributions in his Political Essay on the Kingdom of New Spain. He valued the work of Malaspina's men but recognized that their leader had become "more famous for his misfortunes than for his discoveries." ² He also noted that Moziño, "who carried out his laborious excursions from Guatemala to the Northwest Coast of America or Island of Vancouver and Cuadra... [had occupied] a very distinguished place among the intellectuals [of Mexico] ... before having left his country." ³