Hall's Voyages: Extracts from a Journal Written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico (1826)
About the Journal
The journal is in its entirety written in English, which highlights its purpose of educating English audiences on, for all intents and purposes, a new country. Hall goes into great detail when describing the weather, the geography, and the culture that their could be no other purpose than to educate.
Hall's intent of writing for an English speaking audience, is further evidenced by the use of measurements he employs when he describes weather or geography. In the early nineteenth century while other powers were flirting with the metric system or continued their own national systems, the British Empire employed the imperial system. This use of imperial measurements is best illustrated whenever Hall is describing the temperature of regions of Mexico. Hall does not specify whether he is using Fahrenheit or Celsius, but it is implied he is using Fahrenheit from the temperatures he records.
As a true scientist should, Basil Hall takes a strictly observational, unbiased role in his descriptions of Chile, Peru, and Mexico. He recounts the history of locations and people as if he were around for such experiences. When describing climate and geography Hall chronicles them in the most precise of details, despite lacking some of the tools to properly measure them.
Physical Description
The book is 15.24cm long and 11.43cm wide. It is 315 pages long. The cover is made of a hard, paper like material, with creases along the corners and signs of abrasion. The cover and the back show evidence of being a much lighter shade of brown, much like the spine of the book, and even the edges of the cover suggest that it was one held a solid design.
The spine of the journal is much lighter than either the cover or back of the journal. It shows more evidence of wear and tear, aa there are loose threads protruding from the spine and many almost claw-like cuts towards the center of the spine.
While not visible from the picture, the edges of the are a reddish brown, darker along the top, unlike the pale brown color of the pages. All recorded observations in the journal are typed, thus showing it is a copy and not the original, written journal. Between most pages, one can see the actual thread binding the journal together.
Further Reading
Allen, David Y. “Emerging from Humboldt’s Shadow: British Travelers and John Arrowsmith’s Maps of Mexico, 1822-1844.” Terrae Incognitae 50, no. 1 (April 2018): 53–74. doi:10.1080/00822884.2018.1432278.
Hall, Basil. Extracts from a Journal, Written on the Coasts of Chili, Peru, and Mexico, in the Years 1820, 1821, 1822. Cambridge Library Collection - Latin American Studies. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press, 2013. doi:10.1017/CBO9781107324978.
Kerr, Robert. A General History and Collection of Voyages and Travels. Volume IV. New York: Nova Science Publishers, Incorporated, 2020.
Lawson, Russell M. Frontier Naturalist Jean Louis Berlandier and the Exploration of Northern Mexico and Texas. Albuquerque. Albuquerque: University of New Mexico Press, 2012
Plan of Iguala
The Plan of Iguala also known as the Plan of the Three Guarantees, was established by Agustín de Iturbide and Vicente Guerrero, and essentially served as a proclamation for Mexico's identity after they gained their independence.
Under the Plan of Iguala, there is an almost complete rejection of the old Mexico (New Spain), through the promise of the Three Guarantees: the perpetuity of Roman Catholicism in Mexico, the full independence of Mexico, and the absolute social equality for all social and ethnic groups in Mexico.
An Identity of Their Own
To Basil Hall and the English, independence was not only something difficult to attain, but precious once achieved. Hall explains that this is the reason that although the people of Mexico did not fully understand the extent of their liberty, the idea of independence was ingrained on their hearts and fully understood by all of them. As a result of knowing what it meant to be free and how it felt to be free, Hall feels that any efforts to try and conquer the people of Mexico would be met with resistance and ultimately be futile.
Agustin de Iturbide personifies and perhaps even spreads this identity of independence and opposition to ideas of Mexico under Spanish control. Basil Hall notes that even those who held different ideologies than Iturbide were eventually swayed by his pro-independence rhetoric. Additionally, by tying this idea of independence with Iturbide we can imagine that just as Iturbide overcame every army in his path, independence overcame every ideology in its wake.
Basil Hall notes that the idea of independence helped nurture a more politically active identity. Hall observed that almost all conversations among the people of Mexico would turn political and that the people relished the opportunity to share their political opinions, even if they were woefully and completely misinformed.
Gallery
Latitude and longitude of places visited.
Physical and cultural descriptions of the city of Tepic.
Calculations used for measuring the mountains seen in Guatimala (Guatimala is what Guatemala was known as prior to its independence from Mexico)
View of the journal open to Volume II. Notably the it has one of the few images in the journal, however this image was only added during publication.
Brief climate description of San Blas, Mexico.
Unity is found through the mosquitos.
Basil Hall and the surgeon of the Conway make a house-call.
A culture based off respect and appreciation.
Historical Significance
Prior to the Mexican War of Independence, English interaction with Mexico was limited. Mexico as a colony, known as New Spain, could not even conduct trade with foreign nations such as England without explicit permission from the Spanish crown. Additionally, because of Spanish control, very few nations knew even the simplest aspects of Mexican culture. However, after gaining their independence in 1821, Mexico begins to establish an identity almost in antithesis to their identity under Spanish control.
The Mexican War of Independence would see Mexico’s liberal faction emerge victorious. Mexico however was left in a poor state. Hall interestingly notes that the churches built by Spanish in Mexico, were even grander than those that existed in Europe. In contrast, he notes that the towns and homes that surrounded these magnificent churches remained poor and dilapidated. Although Mexico's first constitution declared Catholicism the official and perpetual religion of the nation, there were growing anti-clerical sentiments.
Additionally, Hall observes Mexico as being eager to open itself up to the rest of the world, particularly in the form of trade. When Hall and the crew of the HMS Conway first docked in the port of San Blas, they noticed that although the port (and Mexico by extension) had just opened up to the rest of the world, the number of both foreign and domestic ships far exceeded their expectations. Hall even adds that this would not be the last time they underestimated the commercial activity in Mexico's water. Hall also puts emphasis on the aspect that this trade which Mexico engaged in was unrestricted. This is particularly interesting because with historical context, Mexico's fledgling economy may have benefited from some trade barriers. However, the implication from Hall's writings and history is that Mexico engaged in unrestricted trade because of this desire to be seen and interacted with on a global scale.
About the Author
Basil Hall was born to James and Helen Hall on December 31, 1788 in Edinburgh, Scotland. The son of a noted geologist, when Hall began his career in the Royal Navy in 1802 his father encouraged him to keeps journals chronicling his travels. From 1802 to 1823, Hall would be sent by the Royal Navy on a variety of scientific and diplomatic missions. Some of his more notable exploits were his expeditions to Rockall and Maclear's Beacon in 1810 and 1813 respectively. In 1816, while on a diplomatic mission in China, Hall undertook a survey of the Ryukyu Islands and the west coast of Korea, becoming one of the first Europeans to describe the peninsula.
Hall undertook his surveys to North and South America between 1820 and 1823. He published his journals of those expeditions as his Extracts from a Journal Written on the Coasts of Chile, Peru and Mexico in 1823 and soon after retired from the navy. Two years later he would marry Margaret Congalton and have a daughter, Eliza. Between 1828 and 1829, Hall traveled to the United States, staying in Savannah Georgia while he wrote another book. This book, which focused on his travels in North America, was met with criticism for Hall's criticisms of American society.
Hall suffered from an unspecified mental illness and would eventually be retained to Royal Hospital Haslar in Portsmouth, where he would die in 1844 at the age of 55.