Prince Maximilian of Wied-Neuwied
Encyclopedia
Prince Alexander Philipp Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (September 23, 1782 - February 3, 1867) was a German
explorer, ethnologist and naturalist
.
Wied was born in Neuwied
, the grandson of the ruling count (after 1784 prince) Johann Friedrich Alexander of Wied-Neuwied.
Born at the end of the European Enlightenment
, Maximilian became friends with two of its major figures: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
, a major comparative anthropologist under whom he studied biological sciences, and Alexander von Humboldt
, who served as Maximilian's mentor. He joined the Prussia
n army in 1800 during the Napoleonic Wars
, rising to the rank of major. He was given a leave of absence from the army in 1815 (prior to Napoleon's escape from Elba).
Wied led an expedition to southeast Brazil
from 1815 to 1817. In 1816 he found the tribe of the Botocudo
s, about which he gave exact details for the first time. On account of the war among the different tribes of the country he was obliged to abandon his original route and remained for some time near some ruins that he had discovered. North of the Belmonte river he made his way through the woods, and after many difficulties arrived in the province of Minas Gerais
. His delicate health forced him to abandon his expedition, and he was detained on unfounded suspicions for three days, and robbed of a large part of his collection of insects and plants. After this he resolved to leave the country, and embarked for Germany on 10 May 1817. On his return, he wrote Reise nach Brasilien (1820–21) and Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien (1825–33).
In 1832 he travelled to the Great Plains
region of North America
, accompanied by the Swiss painter Karl Bodmer
on a journey up the Missouri River
, and wrote Reise in das Innere Nord-Amerikas (1840) on his return. During his travels, he was a sympathetic recorder of the cultures of many of the Native American tribes he encountered, notably the Mandan and the Hidatsa
, who lived in settled villages on the banks of the Missouri, but also such nomadic peoples as the Sioux
, Assinaboine, Plains Cree, Gros Ventres
and Blackfoot
. Bodmer's watercolour paintings of individuals, artefacts and customs among the Indians are acknowledged as among the most accurate and informative ever made. Many were adapted as hand-coloured engravings to illustrate the publication of 1840. Prince Maximilian collected many examples of ethnography, and a large number of specimens of flora and fauna of the area, still preserved in museum collections, notably in the Lindenmuseum, Stuttgart
.
The Genus Neuwiedia
Blume
(Orchidaceae
) was named for him.
Germany
Germany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
explorer, ethnologist and naturalist
Natural history
Natural history is the scientific research of plants or animals, leaning more towards observational rather than experimental methods of study, and encompasses more research published in magazines than in academic journals. Grouped among the natural sciences, natural history is the systematic study...
.
Wied was born in Neuwied
Neuwied
Neuwied is a town in the north of the German state of Rhineland-Palatinate, capital of the District of Neuwied. Neuwied lies on the right bank of the Rhine, 12 km northwest of Koblenz, on the railway from Frankfurt am Main to Cologne...
, the grandson of the ruling count (after 1784 prince) Johann Friedrich Alexander of Wied-Neuwied.
Born at the end of the European Enlightenment
Age of Enlightenment
The Age of Enlightenment was an elite cultural movement of intellectuals in 18th century Europe that sought to mobilize the power of reason in order to reform society and advance knowledge. It promoted intellectual interchange and opposed intolerance and abuses in church and state...
, Maximilian became friends with two of its major figures: Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach
Johann Friedrich Blumenbach was a German physician, physiologist and anthropologist, one of the first to explore the study of mankind as an aspect of natural history, whose teachings in comparative anatomy were applied to classification of what he called human races, of which he determined...
, a major comparative anthropologist under whom he studied biological sciences, and Alexander von Humboldt
Alexander von Humboldt
Friedrich Wilhelm Heinrich Alexander Freiherr von Humboldt was a German naturalist and explorer, and the younger brother of the Prussian minister, philosopher and linguist Wilhelm von Humboldt...
, who served as Maximilian's mentor. He joined the Prussia
Prussia
Prussia was a German kingdom and historic state originating out of the Duchy of Prussia and the Margraviate of Brandenburg. For centuries, the House of Hohenzollern ruled Prussia, successfully expanding its size by way of an unusually well-organized and effective army. Prussia shaped the history...
n army in 1800 during the Napoleonic Wars
Napoleonic Wars
The Napoleonic Wars were a series of wars declared against Napoleon's French Empire by opposing coalitions that ran from 1803 to 1815. As a continuation of the wars sparked by the French Revolution of 1789, they revolutionised European armies and played out on an unprecedented scale, mainly due to...
, rising to the rank of major. He was given a leave of absence from the army in 1815 (prior to Napoleon's escape from Elba).
Wied led an expedition to southeast Brazil
Brazil
Brazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is the largest country in South America. It is the world's fifth largest country, both by geographical area and by population with over 192 million people...
from 1815 to 1817. In 1816 he found the tribe of the Botocudo
Botocudo
Botocudo , is the foreign name for a tribe of South American Indians of eastern Brazil, also known as the Aimorés, Aimborés, or Krenak people...
s, about which he gave exact details for the first time. On account of the war among the different tribes of the country he was obliged to abandon his original route and remained for some time near some ruins that he had discovered. North of the Belmonte river he made his way through the woods, and after many difficulties arrived in the province of Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais
Minas Gerais is one of the 26 states of Brazil, of which it is the second most populous, the third richest, and the fourth largest in area. Minas Gerais is the Brazilian state with the largest number of Presidents of Brazil, the current one, Dilma Rousseff, being one of them. The capital is the...
. His delicate health forced him to abandon his expedition, and he was detained on unfounded suspicions for three days, and robbed of a large part of his collection of insects and plants. After this he resolved to leave the country, and embarked for Germany on 10 May 1817. On his return, he wrote Reise nach Brasilien (1820–21) and Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte von Brasilien (1825–33).
In 1832 he travelled to the Great Plains
Great Plains
The Great Plains are a broad expanse of flat land, much of it covered in prairie, steppe and grassland, which lies west of the Mississippi River and east of the Rocky Mountains in the United States and Canada. This area covers parts of the U.S...
region of North America
North America
North America is a continent wholly within the Northern Hemisphere and almost wholly within the Western Hemisphere. It is also considered a northern subcontinent of the Americas...
, accompanied by the Swiss painter Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer
Karl Bodmer was a Swiss painter of the American West. He accompanied German explorer Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied from 1832 through 1834 on his Missouri River expedition...
on a journey up the Missouri River
Missouri River
The Missouri River flows through the central United States, and is a tributary of the Mississippi River. It is the longest river in North America and drains the third largest area, though only the thirteenth largest by discharge. The Missouri's watershed encompasses most of the American Great...
, and wrote Reise in das Innere Nord-Amerikas (1840) on his return. During his travels, he was a sympathetic recorder of the cultures of many of the Native American tribes he encountered, notably the Mandan and the Hidatsa
Hidatsa
The Hidatsa are a Siouan people, a part of the Three Affiliated Tribes. The Hidatsa's autonym is Hiraacá. According to the tribal tradition, the word hiraacá derives from the word "willow"; however, the etymology is not transparent and the similarity to mirahací ‘willows’ inconclusive...
, who lived in settled villages on the banks of the Missouri, but also such nomadic peoples as the Sioux
Sioux
The Sioux are Native American and First Nations people in North America. The term can refer to any ethnic group within the Great Sioux Nation or any of the nation's many language dialects...
, Assinaboine, Plains Cree, Gros Ventres
Gros Ventres
The Gros Ventre people , also known as the A'ani, A'aninin, Haaninin, and Atsina, are a historically Algonquian-speaking Native American tribe located in north central Montana...
and Blackfoot
Blackfoot
The Blackfoot Confederacy or Niitsítapi is the collective name of three First Nations in Alberta and one Native American tribe in Montana....
. Bodmer's watercolour paintings of individuals, artefacts and customs among the Indians are acknowledged as among the most accurate and informative ever made. Many were adapted as hand-coloured engravings to illustrate the publication of 1840. Prince Maximilian collected many examples of ethnography, and a large number of specimens of flora and fauna of the area, still preserved in museum collections, notably in the Lindenmuseum, Stuttgart
Stuttgart
Stuttgart is the capital of the state of Baden-Württemberg in southern Germany. The sixth-largest city in Germany, Stuttgart has a population of 600,038 while the metropolitan area has a population of 5.3 million ....
.
The Genus Neuwiedia
Neuwiedia
Neuwiedia is a genus of primitive orchids , comprising 9 terrestrial species.The type species is Neuwiedia veratrifolia Blume 1834...
Blume
Carl Ludwig Blume
Charles Ludwig de Blume or Karl Ludwig von Blume was a German-Dutch botanist.He was born at Braunschweig in Germany, but studied at Leiden University and spent his professional life working in the Dutch East Indies and in the Netherlands, where he was Director of the Rijksherbarium at Leiden...
(Orchidaceae
Orchidaceae
The Orchidaceae, commonly referred to as the orchid family, is a morphologically diverse and widespread family of monocots in the order Asparagales. Along with the Asteraceae, it is one of the two largest families of flowering plants, with between 21,950 and 26,049 currently accepted species,...
) was named for him.
See also
- Leopardus wiedii, a spotted cat named for Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied
- Helianthus maximilianiHelianthus maximilianiHelianthus maximiliani is a species of sunflower known by the common name Maximilian sunflower.Native to much of the eastern half of North America, it is found in parts of the western half as an introduced species. The plant thrives in a number of ecosystems, particularly across the plains in...
, the Maximilian sunflower
Further reading
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Reise nach Brasilien in den Jahren 1815 bis 1817, 1820
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Beiträge zur Naturgeschichte Brasiliens, 1824
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Brasilien, Nachträge, Berichtigungen, Zusätze, 1850
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Unveröffentlichte Bilder und Handschriften zur Völkerkunde Brasiliens. Editor: Josef Röder and Hermann Trimborn. Bonn 1954.
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Maximilian Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834. Achermann & Comp., London 1843-1844
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied: Maximilian Prince of Wied’s Travels in the Interior of North America, during the years 1832–1834. In: Early Western Travels, 1748-1848, 1906, (vol. 22-25) from Reuben Gold Thwaites.
- David C. Hunt, William J. Orr, W. H. Goetzmann (Editor): Karl Bodmer's America. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha (Nebraska) 1984. ISBN 0-8032-1185-6
- John C. Ewers: Views of vanishing frontier. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha (Nebraska) 1984 + 1985
- Paul Schach, "Maximilian, Prince of Wied (1782-1867): Reconsidered." Great Plains Quarterly 14 (1994): 5-20.
- Marsha V. Gallagher: Karl Bodmer's eastern views. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha (Nebraska) 1996
- Brandon K. Ruud (Editor): Karl Bodmer's North American Prints. Joslyn Art Museum, Omaha (Nebraska) 2004. ISBN 0-8032-1326-3
- Michael G. Noll, “Prince Maximilian's Other Worlds.” The Pennsylvania Geographer, 43 (2005): 65-83.
- Nordamerika Native Museum Zürich: Karl Bodmer. A Swiss Artist in America 1809-1893. Ein Schweizer Künstler in Amerika. University of Chicago Press and Scheidegger & Spiess, Zürich 2009 (English and German). ISBN 978-3-85881-236-0
External links
- Prince Maximilian of Wied
- Reise In Das Innere Nord-America color plates
- Maximilian zu Wied-Neuwied (1782-1867) naturalist, ethnologist
- An Illustrated Expedition of North America: Bodmer and Maximilian in the American West
- Plates from Prince Maximilian's Travels in Brazil (London, 1820)
- Frogs and turtle named by Prince Max
- A Journey Through the Nebraska Region in 1833 and 1834: From the Diaries of Prince Maximilian of Wied