Conquering nature in Spain and its empire, 1750–1850

Conquering nature in Spain and its empire, 1750–1850

Author: Helen Cowie

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2017-02-01

Total Pages: 249

ISBN-13: 1526117673

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines the study of natural history in the Spanish empire in the years 1750-1850. During this period, Spain made strenuous efforts to survey, inventory and exploit the natural productions of her overseas possessions, orchestrating a serries of scientific expeditions and cultivating and displaying American fauna and flora in metropolitan gardens and museums. This book assesses the cultural significance of natural history, emphasising the figurative and utilitarian value with which eighteenth-century Spaniards invested natural objects, from globetrotting elephants to three-legged chickens. It considers how the creation, legitimisation and dissemination of scientific knowledge reflected broader questions of imperial power and national identity. This book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Spanish and Latin American History, the History of Science and Imperial Culture


Book Synopsis Conquering nature in Spain and its empire, 1750–1850 by : Helen Cowie

Download or read book Conquering nature in Spain and its empire, 1750–1850 written by Helen Cowie and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 249 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the study of natural history in the Spanish empire in the years 1750-1850. During this period, Spain made strenuous efforts to survey, inventory and exploit the natural productions of her overseas possessions, orchestrating a serries of scientific expeditions and cultivating and displaying American fauna and flora in metropolitan gardens and museums. This book assesses the cultural significance of natural history, emphasising the figurative and utilitarian value with which eighteenth-century Spaniards invested natural objects, from globetrotting elephants to three-legged chickens. It considers how the creation, legitimisation and dissemination of scientific knowledge reflected broader questions of imperial power and national identity. This book will be of particular interest to scholars and students of Spanish and Latin American History, the History of Science and Imperial Culture

Conquering Nature in Spain and Its Empire

Conquering Nature in Spain and Its Empire

Author: Helen Cowie

Publisher:

Published: 2011

Total Pages:

ISBN-13: 9781526117663

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

This book examines the study of natural history in the Spanish Empire in the years, 1750-1850, taking a transatlantic approach to the history of science.


Book Synopsis Conquering Nature in Spain and Its Empire by : Helen Cowie

Download or read book Conquering Nature in Spain and Its Empire written by Helen Cowie and published by . This book was released on 2011 with total page pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: This book examines the study of natural history in the Spanish Empire in the years, 1750-1850, taking a transatlantic approach to the history of science.

Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds

Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds

Author: Mackenzie Cooley

Publisher: Taylor & Francis

Published: 2023-05-09

Total Pages: 557

ISBN-13: 1000873021

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The essays and original visualizations collected in Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds explore the relationships among natural things - ranging from pollen in a gust of wind to a carnivorous pitcher plant to a shell-like skinned armadillo - and the humans enthralled with them. Episodes from 1500 to the early 1900s reveal connected histories across early modern worlds as natural things traveled across the Indian Ocean, the Ottoman Empire, Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, the Spanish Empire, and Western Europe. In distant worlds that were constantly changing with expanding networks of trade, colonial aspirations, and the rise of empiricism, natural things obtained new meanings and became alienated from their origins. Tracing the processes of their displacement, each chapter starts with a piece of original artwork that relies on digital collage to pull image sources out of place and to represent meanings that natural things lost and remade. Accessible and elegant, Natural Things is the first study of its kind to combine original visualizations with the history of science. Museum-goers, scholars, scientists, and students will find new histories of nature and collecting within. Its playful visuality will capture the imagination of non-academic and academic readers alike while reminding us of the alienating capacity of the modern life sciences.


Book Synopsis Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds by : Mackenzie Cooley

Download or read book Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds written by Mackenzie Cooley and published by Taylor & Francis. This book was released on 2023-05-09 with total page 557 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The essays and original visualizations collected in Natural Things in Early Modern Worlds explore the relationships among natural things - ranging from pollen in a gust of wind to a carnivorous pitcher plant to a shell-like skinned armadillo - and the humans enthralled with them. Episodes from 1500 to the early 1900s reveal connected histories across early modern worlds as natural things traveled across the Indian Ocean, the Ottoman Empire, Pacific islands, Southeast Asia, the Spanish Empire, and Western Europe. In distant worlds that were constantly changing with expanding networks of trade, colonial aspirations, and the rise of empiricism, natural things obtained new meanings and became alienated from their origins. Tracing the processes of their displacement, each chapter starts with a piece of original artwork that relies on digital collage to pull image sources out of place and to represent meanings that natural things lost and remade. Accessible and elegant, Natural Things is the first study of its kind to combine original visualizations with the history of science. Museum-goers, scholars, scientists, and students will find new histories of nature and collecting within. Its playful visuality will capture the imagination of non-academic and academic readers alike while reminding us of the alienating capacity of the modern life sciences.

The Andean Wonder Drug

The Andean Wonder Drug

Author: Matthew James Crawford

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2016-09-07

Total Pages: 274

ISBN-13: 0822981394

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

In the eighteenth century, malaria was a prevalent and deadly disease, and the only effective treatment was found in the Andean forests of Spanish America: a medicinal bark harvested from cinchona trees that would later give rise to the antimalarial drug quinine. In 1751, the Spanish Crown asserted control over the production and distribution of this medicament by establishing a royal reserve of "fever trees" in Quito. Through this pilot project, the Crown pursued a new vision of imperialism informed by science and invigorated through commerce. But ultimately this project failed, much like the broader imperial reforms that it represented. Drawing on extensive archival research, Matthew Crawford explains why, showing how indigenous healers, laborers, merchants, colonial officials, and creole elites contested European science and thwarted imperial reform by asserting their authority to speak for the natural world. The Andean Wonder Drug uses the story of cinchona bark to demonstrate how the imperial politics of knowledge in the Spanish Atlantic ultimately undermined efforts to transform European science into a tool of empire.


Book Synopsis The Andean Wonder Drug by : Matthew James Crawford

Download or read book The Andean Wonder Drug written by Matthew James Crawford and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2016-09-07 with total page 274 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: In the eighteenth century, malaria was a prevalent and deadly disease, and the only effective treatment was found in the Andean forests of Spanish America: a medicinal bark harvested from cinchona trees that would later give rise to the antimalarial drug quinine. In 1751, the Spanish Crown asserted control over the production and distribution of this medicament by establishing a royal reserve of "fever trees" in Quito. Through this pilot project, the Crown pursued a new vision of imperialism informed by science and invigorated through commerce. But ultimately this project failed, much like the broader imperial reforms that it represented. Drawing on extensive archival research, Matthew Crawford explains why, showing how indigenous healers, laborers, merchants, colonial officials, and creole elites contested European science and thwarted imperial reform by asserting their authority to speak for the natural world. The Andean Wonder Drug uses the story of cinchona bark to demonstrate how the imperial politics of knowledge in the Spanish Atlantic ultimately undermined efforts to transform European science into a tool of empire.

Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850

Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850

Author: Patrick Manning

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2016-09-27

Total Pages: 376

ISBN-13: 0822981483

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The century from 1750 to 1850 was a period of dramatic transformations in world history, fostering several types of revolutionary change beyond the political landscape. Independence movements in Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world were catalysts for radical economic, social, and cultural reform. And it was during this age of revolutions—an era of rapidly expanding scientific investigation—that profound changes in scientific knowledge and practice also took place. In this volume, an esteemed group of international historians examines key elements of science in societies across Spanish America, Europe, West Africa, India, and Asia as they overlapped each other increasingly. Chapters focus on the range of participants in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century science, their concentrated effort in description and taxonomy, and advances in techniques for sharing knowledge. Together, contributors highlight the role of scientific change and development in tightening global and imperial connections, encouraging a deeper conversation among historians of science and world historians and shedding new light on a pivotal moment in history for both fields.


Book Synopsis Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850 by : Patrick Manning

Download or read book Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850 written by Patrick Manning and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2016-09-27 with total page 376 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The century from 1750 to 1850 was a period of dramatic transformations in world history, fostering several types of revolutionary change beyond the political landscape. Independence movements in Europe, the Americas, and other parts of the world were catalysts for radical economic, social, and cultural reform. And it was during this age of revolutions—an era of rapidly expanding scientific investigation—that profound changes in scientific knowledge and practice also took place. In this volume, an esteemed group of international historians examines key elements of science in societies across Spanish America, Europe, West Africa, India, and Asia as they overlapped each other increasingly. Chapters focus on the range of participants in eighteenth- and nineteenth-century science, their concentrated effort in description and taxonomy, and advances in techniques for sharing knowledge. Together, contributors highlight the role of scientific change and development in tightening global and imperial connections, encouraging a deeper conversation among historians of science and world historians and shedding new light on a pivotal moment in history for both fields.

American Globalization, 1492–1850

American Globalization, 1492–1850

Author: Bartolomé Yun-Casalilla

Publisher: Routledge

Published: 2021-06-28

Total Pages: 266

ISBN-13: 1000422585

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Following a study on the world flows of American products during early globalization, here the authors examine the reverse process. By analyzing the imperial political economy, the introduction, adaptation and rejection of new food products in America, as well as of other European, Asian and African goods, American Globalization, 1492–1850, addresses the history of consumerism and material culture in the New World, while also considering the perspective of the history of ecological globalization. This book shows how these changes triggered the formation of mixed imagined communities as well as of local and regional markets that gradually became part of a global economy. But it also highlights how these forces produced a multifaceted landscape full of contrasts and recognizes the plurality of the actors involved in cultural transfers, in which trade, persuasion and violence were entwined. The result is a model of the rise of consumerism that is very different from the ones normally used to understand the European cases, as well as a more nuanced vision of the effects of ecological imperialism, which was, moreover, the base for the development of unsustainable capitalism still present today in Latin America. Chapters 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, and 13 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com


Book Synopsis American Globalization, 1492–1850 by : Bartolomé Yun-Casalilla

Download or read book American Globalization, 1492–1850 written by Bartolomé Yun-Casalilla and published by Routledge. This book was released on 2021-06-28 with total page 266 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Following a study on the world flows of American products during early globalization, here the authors examine the reverse process. By analyzing the imperial political economy, the introduction, adaptation and rejection of new food products in America, as well as of other European, Asian and African goods, American Globalization, 1492–1850, addresses the history of consumerism and material culture in the New World, while also considering the perspective of the history of ecological globalization. This book shows how these changes triggered the formation of mixed imagined communities as well as of local and regional markets that gradually became part of a global economy. But it also highlights how these forces produced a multifaceted landscape full of contrasts and recognizes the plurality of the actors involved in cultural transfers, in which trade, persuasion and violence were entwined. The result is a model of the rise of consumerism that is very different from the ones normally used to understand the European cases, as well as a more nuanced vision of the effects of ecological imperialism, which was, moreover, the base for the development of unsustainable capitalism still present today in Latin America. Chapters 1, 3, 4, 7, 8, 11, and 13 of this book are freely available as a downloadable Open Access PDF under a Creative Commons Attribution-Non Commercial-No Derivatives 4.0 license available at http://www.taylorfrancis.com

Curating empire

Curating empire

Author: Sarah Longair

Publisher: Manchester University Press

Published: 2017-02-01

Total Pages: 255

ISBN-13: 1526118289

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Curating empire explores the diverse roles played by museums and their curators in moulding and representing the British imperial experience. This collection demonstrates how individuals, their curatorial practices, and intellectual and political agendas influenced the development of a variety of museums across the globe. Taken together, these contributions suggest that museums are not just sites for accessing history but need to be considered as historical sites of significance in themselves. Individual essays examine the work of curators in museums in Britain and the colonies, the historical display and interpretation of empire in Britain, and the establishment of ‘museum networks’ in the British imperial context. Curating empire sheds new light on the relationship between museums, as repositories for objects and cultural institutions for conveying knowledge, and the politics of culture and the formation of identities throughout the British Empire.


Book Synopsis Curating empire by : Sarah Longair

Download or read book Curating empire written by Sarah Longair and published by Manchester University Press. This book was released on 2017-02-01 with total page 255 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Curating empire explores the diverse roles played by museums and their curators in moulding and representing the British imperial experience. This collection demonstrates how individuals, their curatorial practices, and intellectual and political agendas influenced the development of a variety of museums across the globe. Taken together, these contributions suggest that museums are not just sites for accessing history but need to be considered as historical sites of significance in themselves. Individual essays examine the work of curators in museums in Britain and the colonies, the historical display and interpretation of empire in Britain, and the establishment of ‘museum networks’ in the British imperial context. Curating empire sheds new light on the relationship between museums, as repositories for objects and cultural institutions for conveying knowledge, and the politics of culture and the formation of identities throughout the British Empire.

Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics

Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics

Author: Lesley Wylie

Publisher: Liverpool University Press

Published: 2023-11-15

Total Pages: 173

ISBN-13: 1835535224

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics establishes the central importance of plants to the histories and cultures of the extended tropical region stretching from the U.S. South to Argentina. Through close examination of a number of significant plants – cacao, mate, agave, the hevea brasilensis, kudzu, the breadfruit, soy, and the ceiba pentandra, among others – this volume shows that vegetal life has played a fundamental role in shaping societies and in formulating cultural and environmental imaginaries in and beyond the region. Drawing on a wide range of cultural traditions and forms across literature, popular music, art, and film, the essays included in this volume transcend regional and linguistic boundaries to bring together multiple plant-centred histories or ‘understories’ – narratives that until now have been marginalized or gone unnoticed. Attending not only to the significant influence of humans on plants, but also of plants on humans, this book offers new understandings of how colonization, globalization, and power were, and continue to be, imbricated with nature in the American tropics.


Book Synopsis Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics by : Lesley Wylie

Download or read book Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics written by Lesley Wylie and published by Liverpool University Press. This book was released on 2023-11-15 with total page 173 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Understories: Plants and Culture in the American Tropics establishes the central importance of plants to the histories and cultures of the extended tropical region stretching from the U.S. South to Argentina. Through close examination of a number of significant plants – cacao, mate, agave, the hevea brasilensis, kudzu, the breadfruit, soy, and the ceiba pentandra, among others – this volume shows that vegetal life has played a fundamental role in shaping societies and in formulating cultural and environmental imaginaries in and beyond the region. Drawing on a wide range of cultural traditions and forms across literature, popular music, art, and film, the essays included in this volume transcend regional and linguistic boundaries to bring together multiple plant-centred histories or ‘understories’ – narratives that until now have been marginalized or gone unnoticed. Attending not only to the significant influence of humans on plants, but also of plants on humans, this book offers new understandings of how colonization, globalization, and power were, and continue to be, imbricated with nature in the American tropics.

What If . . . Book of Alternative History

What If . . . Book of Alternative History

Author: Jeff Greenfield

Publisher: Fox Chapel Publishing+ORM

Published: 2023-08-15

Total Pages: 163

ISBN-13: 1637412584

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

The course of history has taken many turns. What would the world be like if events had happened differently? What if JFK had never visited Dallas on November 22, 1963? What if Germany had won the First World War? How would life be different in America if the Southern states had beaten the North? What would a world without The Beatles sound like? Find out the potential answers to all these questions and many more in What If...:Book of Alternative History.With great full-color photos and compelling narratives, historical experts take a look at these and many more intriguing questions in this fascinating look at what might have been. Perfect for browsing, this title will have readers speculating on the events and people that shaped history and make our lives what they are today.


Book Synopsis What If . . . Book of Alternative History by : Jeff Greenfield

Download or read book What If . . . Book of Alternative History written by Jeff Greenfield and published by Fox Chapel Publishing+ORM. This book was released on 2023-08-15 with total page 163 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: The course of history has taken many turns. What would the world be like if events had happened differently? What if JFK had never visited Dallas on November 22, 1963? What if Germany had won the First World War? How would life be different in America if the Southern states had beaten the North? What would a world without The Beatles sound like? Find out the potential answers to all these questions and many more in What If...:Book of Alternative History.With great full-color photos and compelling narratives, historical experts take a look at these and many more intriguing questions in this fascinating look at what might have been. Perfect for browsing, this title will have readers speculating on the events and people that shaped history and make our lives what they are today.

The Gray Zones of Medicine

The Gray Zones of Medicine

Author: Diego Armus

Publisher: University of Pittsburgh Press

Published: 2021-09-14

Total Pages: 392

ISBN-13: 0822988437

DOWNLOAD EBOOK

Health practitioners working in gray zones, or between official and unofficial medicines, played a fundamental role in shaping Latin America from the colonial period onward. The Gray Zones of Medicine offers a human, relatable, complex examination of the history of health and healing in Latin America across five centuries. Contributors uncover how biographical narratives of individual actors—outside those of hegemonic biomedical knowledge, careers of successful doctors, public health initiatives, and research and medical institutions—can provide a unique window into larger social, cultural, political, and economic historical changes and continuities in the region. They reveal the power of such stories to illuminate intricacies and resilient features of the history of health and disease, and they demonstrate the importance of escaping analytical constraints posed by binary frameworks of legality/illegality, learned/popular, and orthodoxy/heterodoxy when writing about the past. Through an accessible and story-like format, this book unlocks the potential of historical narratives of healings to understand and give nuance to processes too frequently articulated through intellectual medical histories or the lenses of empires, nation-states, and their institutions.


Book Synopsis The Gray Zones of Medicine by : Diego Armus

Download or read book The Gray Zones of Medicine written by Diego Armus and published by University of Pittsburgh Press. This book was released on 2021-09-14 with total page 392 pages. Available in PDF, EPUB and Kindle. Book excerpt: Health practitioners working in gray zones, or between official and unofficial medicines, played a fundamental role in shaping Latin America from the colonial period onward. The Gray Zones of Medicine offers a human, relatable, complex examination of the history of health and healing in Latin America across five centuries. Contributors uncover how biographical narratives of individual actors—outside those of hegemonic biomedical knowledge, careers of successful doctors, public health initiatives, and research and medical institutions—can provide a unique window into larger social, cultural, political, and economic historical changes and continuities in the region. They reveal the power of such stories to illuminate intricacies and resilient features of the history of health and disease, and they demonstrate the importance of escaping analytical constraints posed by binary frameworks of legality/illegality, learned/popular, and orthodoxy/heterodoxy when writing about the past. Through an accessible and story-like format, this book unlocks the potential of historical narratives of healings to understand and give nuance to processes too frequently articulated through intellectual medical histories or the lenses of empires, nation-states, and their institutions.