Article published In:
Historiographia LinguisticaVol. 11:1/2 (1984) ► pp.213–229
José Celestino Mutis (1732–1808) and the Report on American Languages Ordered By Charles III of Spain for Catherine THE Great of Russia
It is well known that the Empress Catherine II of Russia had a personal interest in linguistics. She began to collect words and she even prepared a word list of different languages of her Empire and of the world. It is also known that she asked the King of Spain Charles III for information on the American languages. But even in the most recent bibliography many details are missing. A research in the archives of Madrid and Bogotá has permitted the discovery of many unknown details. We could find documented the petition of St.-Petersburg, the sending of documents of the Empress to Madrid, and the King’s orders, particularly to the Viceking of Nueva Granada, with their realisation, in which the great naturalist Mutis has had an important part. The Empress also asked for Spanish books on the languages of Philippines and Japan.
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