See also: Azara
Felix de Azara is a soldier, an engineer and a Spanish Naturaliste , born the May 18th 1746 with Barbuñales in Aragon and died in October 20th 1821 with Huesca. He is the brother of the diplomat Jose Nicolás de Azara.
Biography
He makes his studies at the university of Huesca then to the Military academy of Barcelona which he leaves like junior in 1764. He is used in the regiment of infantry as Galicia and obtains the rank of lieutenant in 1775. He is wounded during the war against Algiers and survives by miracle.Spain and Portugal sign an agreement to fix the borders of their possessions in South America. Azara is chosen by Madrid to make party of the police chiefs charged to delimit the Spanish borders precisely. It leaves in 1781 for a mission a few months and remains there during twenty years. He explains the reasons of this stay longer than envisaged:
One ordered to me to go as soon as possible to the Assumption, capital of Paraguay, to make the preparations necessary and to await the Portuguese police chiefs. As I started to be with the fact of their horse-gear, and that I saw, that instead of working with the fixing of the limits, they wanted only to prolong this operation ad infinitum, by deadlines, references at the Court, and by the founded pretexts and most ridiculous, to prevent the execution of it, I thought of benefitting best than it would be possible for me long space of time which these delays were to get to me.
It then decides to travel on its own account in order to establish the chart of these areas. Finding me in an immense country which appeared unknown to me, being unaware of almost always what occurred to Europe, deprived of books and pleasant and instructive conversations, I could hardly occupy me but of the objects which nature presented to me. I was thus almost forced to observe; and I saw, with each step, of the beings which fixed my attention, because they appeared new to me. I believed suitable and even necessary to hold note of my observations, as well as reflections that they made me make. But I was retained by the distrust that my ignorance inspired to me, believer whom the objects that they discovered me as new already had been completely described by the historians, the travellers and the naturalists of America. On another side, I was not dissimulated that a man isolated like me, crushed of tiredness, occupied of the geography and other essential objects, without help and councils, was unable himself well to describe so many objects and if varied. But I was determined to observe all that would allow me my capacity, time and the circumstances, by taking note of all, and while suspending the publication of my observations until the moment when I would be removed from my principal occupations.
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