Global Scientific Practice in an Age of Revolutions, 1750-1850 Discussing the Contingency/Inevitability Problem

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 Advancements 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-- Introduction: Building Global Perspectives In History Of Science : The Era From 1750 To 1850 / Patrick Manning -- Part I. Exchanges Among Ways Of Knowing. Between Bureaucrats And Bark Collectors : Spain's Royal Reserve Of Quina And The Limits Of European Botany In The Late Eighteenth-century Spanish Atlantic World / Matthew James Crawford ; Hurricanes On The Gulf Coast : Environmental Knowledge And Science In Louisiana, The Caribbean, And The United States, 1722-1900 / Eleonora Rohland ; The History And Influence Of Maria Sibylla Merian's Bird-eating Tarantula : Circulating Images And The Production Of Natural Knowledge / Kay Etheridge --^ Part Ii. Evolution Of The Linnaean Vision. Linnaeus's Apostles And The Globalization Of Knowledge, 1729-1756 / Kenneth Nyberg ; Local, Universal, And Embodied Knowledge : Anglo-swedish Contacts And Linnaean Natural History / Hanna Hodacs ; How Eighteenth-century Travelers In Trade Changed Swedish Perceptions Of Economic Systems / Göran Rydén -- Part Iii. Debates On Description And Taxonomy. The Slow Science Of Swift Nature : Hummingbirds And Humans In New Spain / Iris Montero Sobrevilla ; Félix De Azara And The Birds Of Paraguay : Making Inventories And Taxonomies At The Boundaries Of The Spanish Empire, 1784-1802 / Marcelo Fabián Figueroa ; Los Pichiciegos : Scraps Of Information And The Affinities Of Mammals In The Early Nineteenth Century / Irina Podgorny --^ Part Iv. Logistics, Management, And Planning. Mapping The Global And Local Archipelago Of Scientific Tropical Sugar : Agriculture, Knowledge, And Practice, 1790-1880 / Leida Fernández-prieto ; Squares Of Tropic Summer : The Wardian Case, Victorian Horticulture, And The Logistics Of Global Plant Transfers, 1770-1910 / Stuart Mccook ; Stamping Empire : Postal Standardization In Nineteenth-century India / Devyani Gupta -- Part V. Labor And Economics In History Of Science. The Great Data Divergence : Global History Of Science Within Global Economic History / Jessica Ratcliff ; Toward A Global Labor History Of Science / Daniel Rood. Edited By Patrick Manning & Daniel Rood. Includes Bibliographical References And Index. Contents 6 Preface 10 Acknowledgments 14 Introduction. Building Global Perspectives in History of Science: The Era from 1750 to 1850 - Patrick Manning 16 Part I. Exchanges among Ways of Knowing 34 Chapter 1. Between Bureaucrats and Bark Collectors: Spain’s Royal Reserve of Quina and the Limits of European Botany in the Late Eighteenth-Century Spanish Atlantic World - Matthew James Crawford 36 Chapter 2. Hurricanes on the Gulf Coast: Environmental Knowledge and Science in Louisiana, the Caribbean, and the United States, 1722–1900 - Eleonora Rohland 53 Chapter 3. The History and Influence of Maria Sibylla Merian’s Bird-Eating Tarantula: Circulating Images and the Production of Natural Knowledge - Kay Etheridge 69 Part II. Evolution of the Linnaean Vision 86 Chapter 4. Linnaeus’s Apostles and the Globalization of Knowledge, 1729–1756 - Kenneth Nyberg 88 Chapter 5. Local, Universal, and Embodied Knowledge: Anglo-Swedish Contacts and Linnaean Natural History - Hanna Hodacs 105 Chapter 6. How Eighteenth-Century “Travelers in Trade” Changed Swedish Perceptions of Economic Systems - Göran Rydén 120 Part III. Debates on Description and Taxonomy 140 Chapter 7. The Slow Science of Swift Nature: Hummingbirds and Humans in New Spain - Iris Montero Sobrevilla 142 Chapter 8. Félix de Azara and the Birds of Paraguay: Making Inventories and Taxonomies at the Boundaries of the Spanish Empire, 1784–1802 - Marcelo Fabián Figueroa 162 Chapter 9. Los Pichiciegos: Scraps of Information and the Affinities of Mammals in the Early Nineteenth Century - Irina Podgorny 178 Part IV. Logistics, Management, and Planning 194 Chapter 10. Mapping the Global and Local Archipelago of Scientific Tropical Sugar: Agriculture, Knowledge, and Practice, 1790–1880 - Leida Fernández-Prieto 196 Chapter 11. “Squares of Tropic Summer”: The Wardian Case, Victorian Horticulture, and the Logistics of Global Plant Transfers, 1770–1910 - Stuart McCook 214 Chapter 12. Stamping Empire: Postal Standardization in Nineteenth-Century India - Devyani Gupta 231 Part V. Labor and Economics in History of Science 250 Chapter 13. The Great Data Divergence: Global History of Science within Global Economic History - Jessica Ratcliff 252 Chapter 14. Toward a Global Labor History of Science - Daniel Rood 270 Notes 290 Bibliography 360 List of Contributors 402 Index 408 "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 advancements 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"-- Résumé de l'éditeur