Blackwood's Edinburgh Magazine, Volume 60, Number 371, September 1846

In this richly detailed essay the author reflects on the astonishing delay with which the Americas emerged from the shadows of history, pondering why a continent so vast and fertile remained unknown to the ancient civilizations of Europe and the Mediterranean. Drawing on contemporary letters and the fevered excitement that greeted Columbus’s return, the prose paints the early New World as a sort of paradise filled with exotic fruits, gold, and unfamiliar beasts. The writing balances poetic wonder with a sober meditation on the forces of providence that guided humanity’s slow, tentative steps into these lands.

The piece then turns its eye to the striking geographical contrasts between North and South America. It describes the endless forests, mighty rivers such as the Mississippi, and the rugged plains of the north, while the southern lands are likened to the fertile valleys of Asia, with sweeping jungles, towering mountains, and a hotter climate inhabited by peoples portrayed as gentle and timid. Through this vivid tableau the author invites listeners to imagine the raw beauty and complex diversity that first greeted European explorers.