Isabel Godin des Odonais

Isabel Godin des Odonais born. Graméson (* 1728 in Riobamba , Viceroy of Peru , now Ecuador ; † September 28, 1792 Cher , France ) became known for her grueling and dangerous journey through the Amazon region in the 18th century, during which she led a search expedition to find her husband Jean To find Godin again. Your trip is considered unique in the history of South America. Before she managed to find her husband again after 20 years of separation, she covered almost 5000 kilometers on her way from western Peru through the Andes Mountains and the Amazon basin to the mouth of the Amazon .

Origin and history

Childhood and youth

Isabel Godin's birthplace was Riobamba, a Spanish colonial city in the viceroyalty of Peru. Her father was the administrator Don Pedro Graméson y Bruno. Isabel had a good education and is learning to speak fluent French in addition to the indigenous Quechua and Spanish .

Marriage to Jean Godin

During his stay in Riobamba, cartographer Jean Godin, traveling on a French expedition, fell in love with 13-year-old Isabela. Despite concerns of her father, the marriage took place on December 27, 1741. Isabel became pregnant.

Jean Godin's journey to French Guiana and separation

Jean initially stayed with his pregnant wife to await the birth of their son Joachim, instead of joining the Charles Marie de La Condamines expedition to take measurements on the equator . But when the news of his father's death reached him, he decided to return to France with his young family. First, however, he would travel alone to Cayenne , French Guiana , and make the necessary arrangements there with the French authorities. Upon arriving in Cayenne, however, Godin learned that he would not be allowed to return to the Portuguese and Spanish territories. Since he did not want to return to France without his family, Godin settled in French Guiana and tried to obtain authorization for his return trip by exchanging letters. After the advocacy of La Condamines and changed political constellations, the Portuguese King Godin granted the return trip through the Amazon region. Godin did not join the ship's crew of 30, however, as he had previously written inflammatory letters about the Portuguese and was now afraid of an act of revenge. The captain of the ship went on the long voyage without the French in order to fetch his wife according to his orders.

Isabel's journey

Isabel began her famous voyage in 1769, four years after the Portuguese ship set out to take Jean Godin's wife to French Guiana. Isabel left with a group of 42 people, including relatives, servants, 31 Indians, and three French. First, the Andes had to be crossed, which crew members identified as the most difficult section. The road strain was made even more difficult by the rampant smallpox epidemic in the areas there, making it more difficult to replenish supplies. Then the trip down the Amazon began in a canoe , which soon proved to be inadequate. So the group set up camp, while a small group of people went on by canoe to get provisions and other means of transport. The camp turned out to be a deadly trap for many crew members who contracted infections in the jungle and died. The returning vanguard found only the bodies of those who remained in the camp and incorrectly sent the news of Isabel's death to Isabel's father Don Pedro. Jean Godin also found out about it. Isabel, however, was rescued by Indians after wandering the jungle alone and disoriented for nine days. The Indians helped her to regain her strength and in the end to get on the ship that was supposed to bring her to her destination. Word of Isabel Godin's incredible journey had spread and more and more people welcomed her downstream.

Reunion with Jean Godin

On July 22, 1770, Isabel Godin and her husband Jean met again after 20 years of separation in the town of Oyapock, near the border between French Guiana and Brazil . The couple then lived in Cayenne before Isabel, her husband and father set off for France in April 1773. Don Pedro died there in 1780, Jean Godin died in Paris in March 1792 and Isabel on September 18, 1792 in the small town of Saint Amand in the Cher department in central France .

Role in South American folklore

The grueling journey through the Andes Mountains and the wild Amazon region during colonial times as well as the self-sacrificing efforts of the noblewoman Isabel Godin in search of the missing husband provided material for the creation of legends. The figure has been stylized and symbolizes the unshakable love of a woman and the strength and determination that this love can mobilize.

Books

• Celia Wakefield: Searching for Isabel Godin. Chicago Review Press, Chicago 1996, ISBN 1-55652-225-8 .
• Peter Baumann : The love of Isabel Godin Fischer Verlag, Frankfurt / M. 2003, ISBN 3-59615-847-8
• Anthony Smith: The Lost Lady of the Amazon: The Story of Isabela Godin and Her Epic Journey. Carroll & Graf, New York 2003, ISBN 0-7867-1048-9 .
• Robert Whitaker: The Mapmaker's Wife: A True Tale of Love, Murder, and Survival in the Amazon. Basic Books, New York 2004, ISBN 0-7382-0808-6 .
• Larrie D. Ferreiro: Measure of the Earth: The Enlightenment Expedition that Reshaped Our World. Basic Books, New York 2011, ISBN 978-0-465-01723-2 .

Web links

• Madame Isabela Godin des Odonais, includes a portrait of Isabela.
• Voyage of Madame Godin along the river of the Amazons, in the year 1770 at Project Gutenberg or as PDF at the Internet Archive.