Historia natural, civil y geográfica de las naciones situadas en las riveras del río Orinoco fue escrita por José Gumilla tras vivir en América donde se interesó por el estudio de la historia natural. Mientras, como miembro de la Compañía de Jesús, se enfrascaba en la evangelización. El padre Gumilla fue un hombre de acción y un investigador acucioso de las ciencias naturales, de la medicina indígena, de la Geografía, la Economía y de los idiomas de los pobladores de la cuenca del Orinoco. Fundó varias poblaciones en los ríos Apure, Meta y en el propio Orinoco. Sus notas y escritos sobre el río Orinoco sirvieron durante mucho tiempo, como necesaria referencia para todos los científicos interesados en la naturaleza de la zona intertropical, incluyendo, obviamente, a Alejandro de Humboldt y muchos otros viajeros del siglo XIX.

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This work expands traditional conceptions of the Enlightenment by examining the roles of wonder and Jesuit missionary conceptions of the Enlightenment by examining the century in a production of knowledge that serves both intellectual and religious functions.