Equinoctial Regions of America, vol 1 | Page 2

political events, have wrought great changes in the governments of the
South American States, as well as in the social condition of their
inhabitants. One consequence of these changes has been to render
obsolete some facts and observations relating to subjects, political,
commercial, and statistical, interspersed through this work. However
useful such matter might have been on its original publication, it is
wholly irrelevant to the existing state of things, and consequently it has
been deemed advisable to omit it. By this curtailment, together with
that of some meteorological tables and discussions of very limited
interest, the work has been divested of its somewhat lengthy and
discursive character, and condensed within dimensions better adapted
to the taste and requirements of the present time.
An English translation of this work by Helen Maria Williams, was
published many years ago, and is now out of print. Though faultless as
respects correctness of interpretation, it abounds in foreign turns of
expression, and is somewhat deficient in that fluency of style without
which a translated work is unsatisfactory to the English reader. In the
edition now presented to the public it is hoped that these objections are
in some degree removed.
A careful English version is given of all the Spanish and Portuguese
terms, phrases, and quotations which occur in this work. Though the
author has only in some few instances given a French translation of
these passages, yet it is presumed that the interpretation of the whole in
English will not be deemed superfluous; this new edition of the
"Personal Narrative" having been undertaken with the view of
presenting the work in the form best suited for the instruction and
entertainment of the general reader.

T.R.
London, December 1851.
***
MEASURES:
In this narrative, as well as in the Political Essay on New Spain, all the
prices are reckoned in piastres, and silver reals (reales de plata). Eight
of these reals are equivalent to a piastre, or one hundred and five sous,
French money (4 shillings 4 1/2 pence English). Nouv. Esp. volume 2
pages 519, 616 and 866.
The magnetic dip is always measured in this work, according to the
centesimal division, if the contrary be not expressly mentioned.
One flasco contains 70 or 80 cubic inches, Paris measure.
112 English pounds = 105 French pounds; and 160 Spanish pounds =
93 French pounds.
An arpent des eaux et forets, or legal acre of France, of which 1. 95 = 1
hectare. It is about 1 1/4 acre English.
A tablon, equal to 1849 square toises, contains nearly an acre and
one-fifth: a legal acre has 1344 square toises, and 1.95 legal acre is
equal one hectare.
For the sake of accuracy, the French Measures, as given by the Author,
and the indications of the Centigrade Thermometer, are retained in the
translation. The following tables may, therefore, be found useful.
TABLE OF LINEAR MEASURE.
1 toise = 6 feet 4.73 inches. 1 foot = 12.78 inches. 1 metre = 3 feet 3.37
inches.
(Transcriber's Note: The 'toise' was introduced by Charlemagne in 790;
it originally represented the distance between the fingertips of a man
with outstretched arms, and is thus the same as the British 'fathom'.
During the founding of the Metric System, less than 20 years before the
date of this work, the 'toise' was assigned a value of 1.949 meters, or a
little over two yards. The 'foot'; actually the 'French foot', or 'pied', is
defined as 1/6 of a 'toise', and is a little over an English foot.)
CENTIGRADE THERMOMETER REDUCED TO FAHRENHEIT'S
SCALE.
Cent. Fahr. Cent. Fahr. Cent. Fahr. Cent. Fahr. 100 212 65 149 30 86 -5
23 99 210.2 64 147.2 29 84.2 -6 21.2 98 208.4 63 145.4 28 82.4 -7 19.4
97 206.6 62 143.6 27 80.6 -8 17.6 96 204.8 61 141.8 26 78.8 -9 15.8 95

203 60 140 25 77 -10 14 94 201.2 59 138.2 24 75.2 -11 12.2 93 199.4
58 136.4 23 73.4 -12 10.4 92 197.6 57 134.6 22 71.6 -13 8.6 91 195.8
56 132.8 21 69.8 -14 6.8 90 194 55 131 20 68 -15 5 89 192.2 54 129.2
19 66.2 -16 3.2 88 190.4 53 127.4 18 64.4 -17 1.4 87 188.6 52 125.6 17
62.6 -18 -0.4 86 186.8 51 123.8 16 60.8 -19 -2.2 85 185 50 122 15 59
-20 -4 84 183.2 49 120.2 14 57.2 -21 -5.8 83 181.4 48 118.4 13 55.4
-22 -7.6 82 179.6 47 116.6 12 53.6 -23 -9.4 81 177.8 46 114.8 11 51.8
-24 -11.2 80 176 45 113 10 50 -25 -13 79 174.2 44 111.2 9 48.2 -26
-14.8 78 172.4 43 109.4 8 46.4 -27 -16.6 77 170.6 42 107.6 7 44.6 -28
-18.4 76 168.8 41 105.8 6 42.8 -29