Travels in Peru, on the Coast, in the Sierra, Across the Cordilleras and the Andes, into the Primeval Forests

About this book

Johann Jakob von Tschudi’s work is a sprawling geographical and ethnographic survey of Peru, beginning with a dense series of footnotes that situate Lima’s foundation, its demographic shifts, and the city’s social fabric. The opening pages move from factual data, population figures from 1764 to 1842, tax registers, and casualty counts from earthquakes and wars, to vivid descriptions of the city’s inhabitants, their costumes, and the peculiar customs of the “Beatas” and the “Saya y Manto.” Tschudi interlaces historical anecdotes about figures such as Francisco Pizarro with meticulous observations of race, class, and gender, offering a panoramic view of the capital before turning his gaze to the interior of the country.

The voice is that of a 19th‑century European scholar, marked by exhaustive detail, a penchant for classification, and a tone that oscillates between detached reportage and moral judgment. Its style reflects the period’s travel literature, dense with statistics, footnotes, and occasional literary flourish. Readers who relish thorough historical geography, the anthropology of colonial societies, or the richly textured prose of early travel writers will find this volume rewarding, while those seeking a brisk narrative should be prepared for its scholarly depth and occasional bias.