John Roberton, Cirujano del Ejército de Bolívar

José Rafael Fortique offers a Spanish translation of the Journal of an Expedition 1400 miles up the Orinoco and 300 up the Arauca, originally published in London in 1822 under the pseudonym J. H. Robinson. In his introduction, Fortique offers evidence which identifies the real author as Dr. John Roberton. Roberton, contracted in London by an agent of Simón Bolívar, arrived in Venezuela in 1818. Illness brought about his untimely death in Angostura shortly before the first publication of his journal in England. Roberton left this personalistic account of his travels and the hardships he suffered as a result of insects, disease, and poor diet. His medical activities are scarcely mentioned. Although often overly critical, Roberton’s description of the rebel soldiers and officers is of interest. The narrative also presents a vivid, though limited, picture of the effects that the fighting had upon a society caught up in a war of extermination.