The diary of the doctor José Felipe Flores: travels through Europe, sciences and writing

Abstract

José Felipe Flores is one of the scientists of the eighteenth century who is totally forgotten by now. However, he always was very active in several sections of the scientific domain. Moreover, he always did what he could for the development of the scientific knowledge in Guatemala. That is why he travelled through Europe. Of this travel, he left letters and a diary, unpublished and unknown until today, because of a wrong identification of its author. With this article, we intend to study this particular diary. After the evocation of its author and its history, we will observe its scientific dimension, with the mentions of the scientific development and of the contacts between the Guatemalan doctor and the European scientists.