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102 LANKESTERIANA A B C Figure 37. A — Benedict Roezl (1824-1885). Contemporary portrait, courtesy of Rudolf Jenny. B — Statue of Roezl in Prague, which shows him with an orchid in his hand and an Indian at his feet. Photograph by Pavel Kindlmann. C — Miltoniopsis roezlii (Rchb. f.) God. Leb. Illustration by Pilar Casasa. D — Carl Hoffmann (1833-1859). Photograph by William Buchanan, courtesy of Silvia Meléndez. LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009. D
William Walker in Central America ossenbaCh — Orchids and orchidology in Central America “The best field to exercise slavery is tropical America...” William Walker (Obregón Quesada, 1993: 176) After the failure of the Central American Federation, the conservatives dominated the political life of Central America, under the notorious leadership of Rafael Carrera, the Guatemalan dictator. “Several liberal attempts to restore the Union, articulated usually as a response to British hostilities, ended as complete failures” (Pérez Brignoli, 2000: 103). Carrera, enemy of the Federation, defeated all his adversaries reestablishing the ‘conservative peace’. But new and serious turbulences appeared, which threatened the region. In 1854, the Liberal party in Nicaragua was fighting the Conservative party for power and losing. In desperation, they sought out William Walker’s military assistance to help them topple the Conservatives 29 . In 1855, Walker responded and led them in the capture of the city of Granada. He double-crossed the Liberals, however, and made himself President of Nicaragua in 1856 being quickly recognized by the United States government as such. “He was a man with a very concrete plan: to conquer Nicaragua, then the rest of Central America, to build the Canal and to impose slavery” (Obregón Quesada, 1993: 176). Arrogant as all defenders of the colonial interests of the United States, Wells wrote in 1857: “From the Mexican highlands to the isthmus of Panama, the feeling prevails among all inhabitants that, although it will mean the ruin of the race that until recently has governed their destinies, they will soon be forced to join the flag of the stripes of the Union, and continue as satellites in the orbit of the same planet” (Wells, 1982: 466). However, Walker’s supporters appropriated a transit company steamer owned by the American industrialist Cornelius Vanderbilt and Vanderbilt retaliated by financing the conservative forces against Walker. Walker was overthrown in a battle in 1857, and despite his attempts to recapture Nicaragua he never again regained control. The British captured Walker in Honduras in 1860 during another takeover attempt and he was promptly executed by the Honduran authorities. 103 But the constant wars and political struggles in the region where no apparent obstacles for the travelers and naturalists who continued arriving in Central America. Paraphrasing what Skinner had said years earlier, ‘they continued coming in spite of themselves’. Orchidomania and their fascination for natural history were always stronger than any other consideration. Charles Wright (1811-1865) had taken part as a botanist in the expedition that had surveyed the Mexican-American borders after the war of 1846- 1848. In 1853, he joined the United States North Pacific Exploring Expedition, also known as the Ringgold and Rodgers Expedition for its captains. This expedition traveled around the world, stopping in such places as Australia, Hong Kong, Japan, and the islands of the Bering Straits, before arriving in San Francisco. Wright spent the winter in California and then asked to leave the expedition, which was due to continue south around Cape Horn and then to New York. After leaving the expedition, Wright took a steamer to Nicaragua, where he arrived in February of 1856, collecting for about eight weeks. He arrived at San Juan del Sur mid-February, 1856 and went to Virgin Bay, which was his base for two months. He made excursions to the Pacific coast and to an island in Lake Nicaragua. While in Nicaragua, Wright also discovered another hazard of fieldwork: political unrest. Wright had to be careful in the content of his letters to Asa Gray, as negative comments about the government would be censored. Wright also suspected that more innocent letters were also seized from the mail. One letter that did get through to Gray describes the trouble that Wright had in trying to leave Nicaragua. Rumors were flying that outward bound transport would soon be halted, so Wright hastily tried to arrange his journey to New York. For a time it seemed that no amount of money could either secure a berth or charter a ship, but eventually Wright was able to arrange transport back to the United States. Among Wright’s collections in Nicaragua we find some orchids, such as Epidendrum imatophyllum Lindl., Pleurothallis cardiothallis Rchb. f. and Brassavola nodosa Lindl. and also new types: Camaridium wrightii Schltr. (Wright s.n., Nicaragua), Ornithidum paleatum Rchb. f. (Wright s.n., Nicaragua), 29 William Walker was born in 1824 in Nashville, Tennessee. After graduating, he worked for a time as a lawyer and became finally a soldier of fortune, participating in several political adventures in Mexico and California. LANKESTERIANA 9(1—2), August 2009. © Universidad de Costa Rica, 2009.
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LANKESTERIANA 9(1-2): 1-268. 2009.
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despotism penetrated the social sec
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ut we believe that they resemble th
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Santa Cruz de Tlatelolco (Gómez-Po
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