Natureza, ciência e história na experiência da vigem: o olhar de Johann Rengger sobre o Paraguai (1818-1835)

Abstract

The present thesis analyzes the representations of Paraguai’s society and nature expressed in a set of travel narratives by Swedish physician Johann Rudolf Rengger (1795-1832), entitled Ensayo Historico sobre la Revolución del Paraguay y el gobierno dictatorio del Doctor Francia, published in 1827, and Viaje al Paraguay en los años 1818 a 1826, published post-mortem in 1835. In the beginning of the nineteenth century, Rengger along with his colleague, the also Swedish physician, Marcel Longchamp, undertook, on laissez-faire, a trip to South America. The decision to explore Paraguay, in the time under the dictatorship of José Gaspar Rodrigues de Francia, imposed difficulties for the travelers, who were forced to remain in the country for nearly six years, between 1819 and 1825. After returning to Europe, Rengger dedicated himself to the systematization of the material he managed to bring along and to the publishing of his trip’s first results, a process that was shortened by his premature death, in 1832. At first, we are going to focus on Joahnn Rengger’ trajectory, reflecting upon his formation in several European countries and his performed trips’ importance, either in his studies, or in his following activities. Therefore, besides Rengger’s narratives, we are going to make use of historical records produced by the government of Francia, of narratives produced by other travelers who had been to Paraguay and of biographic writings written by individuals closely related to the Swedish physician. In the light of Cultural History, we restored the process of writing and edition of Rengger’s work and analyzed its impressions on nature and the Paraguayan population, notably, about Indians and criollos, carefully relating them to scientific and aesthetic theories in force during that time and present in other travelers’ reports. Following, we analyze the Rengger’s performance in Paraguay as a physician and naturalist, roles that made him notable, adding to this analysis a reflection on his work Ensayo Historico and on his perceptions and evaluations on Paraguay’s history. The analysis of Johann Rengger’s travel reports allowed us to problematize not only his trajectory and his intellectual production, but also reflect upon his perceptions about Paraguay’s history, society and nature, regardless of the first decades of the eighteen hundreds.