Editing Alexander von Humboldt (section)

==Expedition in Russia, 1829==

[[File:Humboldt RUS.jpg|thumb|upright=1.75|Map of Humboldt's expedition to Russia in 1829]]
In 1811, and again in 1818, projects of Asiatic exploration were proposed to Humboldt, first by Tsar [[Nicholas I of Russia|Nicholas I]]'s Russian government, and afterwards by the Prussian government; but on each occasion, untoward circumstances interposed. It was not until he had begun his sixtieth year that he resumed his early role of traveler in the interests of science.

The Russian Foreign Minister, Count [[Georg von Cancrin]], contacted Humboldt about whether a [[platinum]]-based currency was possible in Russia and invited him to visit the Ural Mountains. Humboldt was not encouraging about a platinum-based currency, when [[silver]] was the standard as a world currency. But the invitation to visit the Urals was intriguing, especially since Humboldt had long dreamed of going to Asia. He had wanted to travel to [[India]] and made considerable efforts to persuade the [[British East India Company]] to authorize a trip, but those efforts were fruitless.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|pp=171–174, 199–200}}

When Russia renewed its earlier invitation to Humboldt, he accepted.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|pp=199–200}} The Russians sought to entice Humboldt by engaging his enduring interest in mining sites, for comparative scientific purposes for Humboldt, but for the Russians to gain expert knowledge about their resources. For Humboldt, the Russian monarch's promise to fund the trip was extremely important, since Humboldt's inherited 100,000 thaler fortune was gone and he lived on the Prussian government pension of 2,500–3,000 thalers as the monarch's chamberlain. The Russian government gave an advance of 1200 {{transliteration|ru|chervontsev}} in Berlin and another 20,000 when he arrived in [[Saint Petersburg]].<ref name="Engelhardt60">{{cite book|last=Engelhardt|first=Mikhail Alexandrovich|author-link=:ru:Энгельгардт, Михаил Александрович|script-title=ru:Александр Гумбольдт. Его жизнь, путешествия и научная деятельность|trans-title=Alexander Humboldt: His Life, Travels and Scientific Activity|location=Saint Petersburg|publisher=Tip. Tovarishchestva obshchestvennaia Pol'za|year=1900|page=60}}</ref>

Humboldt was eager to travel not just to the Urals, but also across the steppes of Siberia to Russia's border with China. Humboldt wrote Cancrin saying that he intended to learn Russian to read mining journals in the language.{{sfn|de Terra|1955|pp=283–285}} As the details of the expedition were worked out, Humboldt said that he would travel to Russia in his own French coach, with a German servant, as well as [[Gustav Rose]], a professor of chemistry and mineralogy. He also invited [[Christian Gottfried Ehrenberg]] to join the expedition, to study water micro-organisms in [[Lake Baikal]] and the [[Caspian Sea]]. Humboldt himself was keen to continue his studies of magnetism of mountains and mineral deposits. As was usual for his research, he brought scientific instruments to take the most accurate measurements.{{sfn|de Terra|1955|p=287}} The Russians organized the local arrangements, including lodging, horses, accompanying crew. Humboldt's title for the expedition was as an official of the Department of Mines. As the expedition neared dangerous areas, he had to travel in a convoy with an escort.<ref name="Engelhardt60" />

Physically Humboldt was in good condition, despite his advancing years, writing to Cancrin "I still walk very lightly on foot, nine to ten hours without resting, despite my age and my white hair".<ref>Humboldt to Cancrin, quoted in {{harvnb|de Terra|1955|p=286}}.</ref>

[[File:Img079.jpg|thumb|upright=0.7|1959 postage stamp from the Soviet Union]]
Between May and November 1829 he and the growing expedition traversed the wide expanse of the Russian empire from the [[Neva]] to the [[Yenisei]], accomplishing in twenty-five weeks a distance of {{convert|9614|mi|km}}. Humboldt and the expedition party travelled by coach on well maintained roads, with rapid progress being made because of changes of horses at way stations. The party had grown, with Johann Seifert, who was a huntsman and collector of animal specimens; a Russian mining official; Count Adolphe Polier, one of Humboldt's friends from Paris; a cook; plus a contingent of [[Cossacks]] for security. Three carriages were filled with people, supplies, and scientific instruments. For Humboldt's magnetic readings to be accurate, they carried an iron-free tent.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|pp=201–202}} This expedition was unlike his Spanish American travels with Bonpland, with the two alone and sometimes accompanied by local guides.
The Russian government was interested in Humboldt's finding prospects for mining and commercial advancement of the realm and made it clear that Humboldt was not to investigate social issues, nor criticize social conditions of Russian [[serfs]]. In his publications on Spanish America, he did comment on the conditions of the indigenous populations, and deplored black slavery, but well after he had left those territories.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|p=205}} As Humboldt discovered, the government kept tight control of the expedition, even when it was {{convert|1000|mi}} from Moscow, with local government officials greeting the expedition at every stop. The itinerary was planned with [[Tobolsk]] the farthest destination, then a return to Saint Petersburg.

Humboldt wrote to the Russian Minister Cancrin that he was extending his travel, knowing that the missive would not reach him in time to scuttle the plan. The further east he journeyed into wilder territory, the more Humboldt enjoyed it. They still followed the Siberian Highway and made excellent progress, sometimes a hundred miles (160&nbsp;km) in a day.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|pp=206–207}} Although they were halted at the end of July and warned of an [[anthrax]] outbreak, Humboldt decided to continue despite the danger. "At my age, nothing should be postponed".<ref>quoted in {{harvnb|Wulf|2015|p=207}}.</ref>

The journey though carried out with all the advantages afforded by the immediate patronage of the Russian government, was too rapid to be profitable scientifically. The correction of the prevalent exaggerated estimate of the height of the Central Asian plateau, and the prediction of the discovery of diamonds in the gold-washings of the Urals, were important aspects of these travels. In the end, the expedition took 8 months, travelled 15,500&nbsp;km, stopped at 658 post stations, and used 12,244 horses.{{sfn|Engelhardt|1900|p=62}}

One writer claims that "Nothing was quite as Humboldt wanted it. The entire expedition was a compromise."{{sfn|Wulf|2015|p=203}} The Russian emperor offered Humboldt an invitation to return to Russia, but Humboldt declined, due to his disapproval of Nicholas's restrictions on his freedom of movement during the expedition and his ability to freely report on it.{{sfn|de Terra|1955|p=306}} Humboldt published two works on the Russian expedition, first {{lang|fr|Fragments de géologie et de climatologie asiatiques}} in 1831, based on lectures he gave on the topic. In 1843, he completed the three-volume ''Asie Centrale'',<ref>Alexander von Humboldt, ''Asie centrale, recherches sur les chaînes des montagnes et la climotologie comparée''. 3 vols. 1843.</ref> which he dedicated to Tsar Nicholas, which he called "an unavoidable step, as the expedition was accomplished at his expense".<ref>quoted in {{harvnb|de Terra|1955|p=307}}.</ref> As of 2016, these works have not been translated to English.{{sfn|Wulf|2015|p=433}} His 1829 expedition to Russia when he was an old man is much less known than his five-year travels in Spanish America, which had resulted in many published volumes over the decades since his 1804 return. Nevertheless, it gave Humboldt comparative data for his various later scientific publications.