Early modern natural history: Contributions from the Americas and India (original) (raw)

The influence of new world species on the botany of the 16th century

Asclepio, 1996

El presente trabajo analiza cómo algunas especies botánicas del Nuevo mundo, no tan difundidas como el tomate, el tabaco, etc., formaron parte del conocimiento botánico europeo, haciendo especial referencia a la de obra de Ulisse Aldrovandi . Su herbario, sus colecciones iconográficas y manuscritos que contienen listas de semillas, maderas y otros materiales, se conservan en su Museo y algunas de las especies crecen en el Jardín Botánico de Bolonia.

The Cultural Authority of Natural History in Early Modern Europe

Biology and Ideology from Descartes to Dawkins, 2010

This chapter offers a general account of what might be termed the first phase in the transformation of natural history—one that took place in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. This period witnessed significant changes to both the practice and the status of natural history. Three aspects of this change are of particular significance. First, was the manner in which during the seventeenth century all of the new sciences sought to establish their social legitimacy in the face of both competing Aristotelian approaches to the natural world and humanist priorities which devalued the study of nature. Apologists for the new sciences advanced the argument that their activities could promote the moral and religious goals associated with the traditional humanist education, and do so more effectively than the Aristotelian sciences. Second, and in some tension with the first element, was the attempt to provide additional justifications for scientific endeavours. These justifications sought to expand the traditional goals of scholarship and learning, focusing more on the provision of material benefits to society. These new utilitarian goals were still justified in terms of prevailing religious values, however, and again, the new sciences were argued to be superior to Aristotelian approaches in achieving them. Third was the manner in which natural history itself was repositioned in the hierarchy of the disciplines concerned with the study of nature, moving from the margins of intellectual life and coming to be regarded as a systematic and rigorous activity, and one fundamental to the whole scientific enterprise.

Natural history in India during 18th and 19th centuries

Journal of Biosciences, 2013

European access to India was a multi-dimensional phenomenon. The merchant-rulers were keen to identify commodities that could be profitably exported to Europe, cultivate commercial plants in India that grew outside their possessions, and find substitutes for drugs and simples that were obtained from the Americas. The ever increasing scientific community in Europe was excited about the opportunities that the vast landmass of India offered in natural history studies. On their part, the Christianity enthusiasts in Europe viewed European rule in India as a godsend for propagating the Gospel in the east. These seemingly diverse interests converged at various levels. Christian missionaries as a body were the first educated Europeans in India. Like in philology, they were pioneers in natural history also. They constituted a valuable resource for naturalists in Europe. European interest in their field work brought them scientific recognition as well as the much needed cash. More significantly, they introduced the colonial administrators, especially the medical men, to systematic botany.

Mediterranean Botany. Accepted version. Making Cross-Cultural Knowledge about Materia Medica in the Sixteenth Century

Plants in 16th and 17th Century Botany between Medicine and Science Edited by Fabrizio Baldassarri, 2023

In 1591, physician Prospero Alpini (1553-1617) published The Dialogue on Balsam (De balsamo dialogus), a treatise on a medicinal plant called balsam. At the time, many believed this exceptionally expensive commodity was extinct. The dialogue was uniquely set in Egypt between three characters: Abdella and Abdachim, respectively characterized as "Egyptian physician" and "Jew," and Prosper Alpinus, the "Italian". Through the analysis of Alpini's 1591–1592 works on Egypt and especially of the treatise on balsam, this essay contributes to the historiography exploring the production of new knowledge on materia medica at the end of the sixteenth century. I argue that in the balsam dialogue Alpini presented natural knowledge on balsam as a cross-cultural scientific production.

‘For the Sciences Migrate, Just Like People’: The Case of Botanical Knowledge in the Early Modern Iberian Empires

Perspectives on Science , 2022

In his writings, Francis Bacon emphasized the interrelatedness between the migration of people and knowledge, arguing that Europeans of his time had surpassed the greatest civilizations because of their ability to traverse the world freely. Concentrating on Spanish observers who investigated New Spain’s flora, this article bridges theory and practice by examining the Iberian roots of Bacon’s views. The article examines scientific approaches for acquiring bioknowledge by Iberians who specialized in European medicine, including Francisco Hernández, Juan de Cárdenas and Francisco Ximénez. While the article recognizes the contribution of travellers and expatriates to Spain’s bioprospecting project, it also points to the ways in which the limitations of the transfer of botanical information was acknowledged, and discusses its meaning. By presenting the complexities in the communication of knowledge, I argue, naturalists in the colonies could highlight their unique vantage point in relation to “armchair” specialists in the metropole.