The Mapmaker's Wife
For my reading, I selected The Mapmaker's Wife by: Robert Whitaker. The book is both a romantic story of love and a detailed scientific history. Set in 18th century Peru and Ecuador, the book tells the stories of Isabel Gramesón, an elite Spanish woman from Peru, and Jean Godin, a French scientist and cartographer.
The book begins by explaining the history of cartography, astronomy, and the French Enlightenment. During the 18th century there was tumultous debate over the shape and size of the earth. Many believed that the Earth bulged at each of it's poles. In hopes of finding an answer to these speculations, the French Academy of Sciences sent a group of scientists and cartographers, lead by Louis Godin, Charles-Marie de La Condamine, and Pierre Bouguer, to attempt to measure the earth's equator in Ecuador. Jean Godin acted as an assistant on this voyage. Their journey was tumultous. Often, they fought with one another, struggled with their technology, and a lack of sufficient funding.
Isabel Gramesón and Jean Godin were married during his time in Ecuador when she was just thirteen years old. She was the daughter of Spanish Creole elites and had spent most of her life sequestered in a Spanish convent school as was traditional for elite Spanish women in Ecuador and Peru. The couple were residing in Riobamba, the home of Isabel, but hoped to move to France. As a result Godin decided to travel down the Amazon river to Cayenne, French Guiana, in order to obtain the money and professional recognition necessary to make this journey possible. However, this proved to be extremely difficult. Once he arrived in Cayenne, Godin was detained while attempted to receive a passport to cross the Portuguese border, but was unsuccessful. Finally, Godin was able to secure to a ship to see Isabel.
For twenty years, Isabel was left without word from her husband. She endured great emotional tribulations, including the death of a child to smallpox, on her own. When she heard word of the ship waiting for her she sent a party of servants to investigate. When these rumors were confirmed Isabel decided to journey alone with a party of her servants through the rain-forest from Riobamba in order to reunited with her family. The journey proved to very perilous and many of Isabel's party died of drowning or smallpox while traveling down the Amazon. Eventually, Isabel was the only remaining member of the group and was left wandering disoriented through the jungle. She was discovered by natives who helped her reach Cayenne and reunited her with her husband after twenty years. The couple then successfully returned to France where they resided until they died.
This book gives a remarkable insight into the landscape and culture of Ecuador. It is fascinating to learn about the colonial history of the country and of cartography, which we often take for granted. Moreover, it gave a unique insight into the lives of colonial women and a thrilling story of a woman daring enough to deify societal standards for love and adventure.
The book begins by explaining the history of cartography, astronomy, and the French Enlightenment. During the 18th century there was tumultous debate over the shape and size of the earth. Many believed that the Earth bulged at each of it's poles. In hopes of finding an answer to these speculations, the French Academy of Sciences sent a group of scientists and cartographers, lead by Louis Godin, Charles-Marie de La Condamine, and Pierre Bouguer, to attempt to measure the earth's equator in Ecuador. Jean Godin acted as an assistant on this voyage. Their journey was tumultous. Often, they fought with one another, struggled with their technology, and a lack of sufficient funding.
Isabel Gramesón and Jean Godin were married during his time in Ecuador when she was just thirteen years old. She was the daughter of Spanish Creole elites and had spent most of her life sequestered in a Spanish convent school as was traditional for elite Spanish women in Ecuador and Peru. The couple were residing in Riobamba, the home of Isabel, but hoped to move to France. As a result Godin decided to travel down the Amazon river to Cayenne, French Guiana, in order to obtain the money and professional recognition necessary to make this journey possible. However, this proved to be extremely difficult. Once he arrived in Cayenne, Godin was detained while attempted to receive a passport to cross the Portuguese border, but was unsuccessful. Finally, Godin was able to secure to a ship to see Isabel.
For twenty years, Isabel was left without word from her husband. She endured great emotional tribulations, including the death of a child to smallpox, on her own. When she heard word of the ship waiting for her she sent a party of servants to investigate. When these rumors were confirmed Isabel decided to journey alone with a party of her servants through the rain-forest from Riobamba in order to reunited with her family. The journey proved to very perilous and many of Isabel's party died of drowning or smallpox while traveling down the Amazon. Eventually, Isabel was the only remaining member of the group and was left wandering disoriented through the jungle. She was discovered by natives who helped her reach Cayenne and reunited her with her husband after twenty years. The couple then successfully returned to France where they resided until they died.
This book gives a remarkable insight into the landscape and culture of Ecuador. It is fascinating to learn about the colonial history of the country and of cartography, which we often take for granted. Moreover, it gave a unique insight into the lives of colonial women and a thrilling story of a woman daring enough to deify societal standards for love and adventure.
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