Exploraciones de don José Agustín Palacios: realizadas en los rios Beni, Mamoré y Madera y en el lago Rojo-Aguado, durante los años 1844 al 47 ; Descripción de la provincia de Mojos

The book and map document the results of an early topographical survey of the Madeira River rapids for the prospective railroad that would connect Bolivia with the Atlantic Ocean. ‡b According to Wikipedia, the survey was conducted by José Agustín Palacios in 1844-1847 when he served as a General Administrator of Taxes in the province of Moxos. In 1846, Palacios convinced Bolivian authorities that the best way to secure access to the Atlantic was through the Amazon. At the time, Bolivia had access to the Pacific Ocean (subsequently lost to Chile in the War of the Pacific in 1884), but the lucrative trade routes with the United States and Europe were located in the Atlantic. In 1851, the United States government became interested in access to Bolivian products, notably rubber, and contracted Lieutenant Lardner Gibbon to study the viability of a rail link between the navigable Amazon River and Bolivian production centers. Gibbon's study concluded that a railroad along the Madeira River rapids would allow efficient transport of goods from the Bolivian capital of La Paz to US markets. After several unsuccessful attempt to overcome the Madeira rapids, the Madeira-Mamoré Railroad was constructed (1907-1912), bypassing the rapids.