Plants and Empire : Colonial Bioprospecting in the Atlantic World

plants Seldom Figure In The Grand Narratives Of War, Peace, Or Even Everyday Life Yet They Are Often At The Center Of High Intrigue. In The Eighteenth Century, Epic Scientific Voyages Were Sponsored By European Imperial Powers To Explore The Natural Riches Of The New World, And Uncover The Botanical Secrets Of Its People. Bioprospectors Brought Back Medicines, Luxuries, And Staples For Their King And Country. Risking Their Lives To Discover Exotic Plants, These Daredevil Explorers Joined With Their Sponsors To Create A Global Culture Of Botany. but Some Secrets Were Unearthed Only To Be Lost Again. In This Moving Account Of The Abuses Of Indigenous Caribbean People And African Slaves, Schiebinger Describes How Slave Women Brewed The Peacock Flower Into An Abortifacient, To Ensure That They Would Bear No Children Into Oppression. Yet, Impeded By Trade Winds Of Prevailing Opinion, Knowledge Of West Indian Abortifacients Never Flowed Into Europe. A Rich History Of Discovery And Loss, plants And Empire Explores The Movement, Triumph, And Extinction Of Knowledge In The Course Of Encounters Between Europeans And The Caribbean Populations. mark Harrison - American Historical Review [a] Fascinating Study...schiebinger Has Read Widely In The Natural-historical And Medical Literature Of The Period, And She Writes Engagingly, Bringing To Life Many Of The Chief Protoganists. This Book Ought To Be Essential Reading For Anyone Interested In The Relationship Between Science And Empire. In This Account Of The Abuses Of Indigenous Caribbean People And African Slaves, Schiebinger Describes How Slave Women Brewed The Peacock Flower Into An Abortifacient To Ensure That They Would Bear No Children Into Oppression. Yet, Impeded By Trade Winds Of Prevailing Opinion, Knowledge Of West Indian Abortifacients Never Flowed Into Europe. A Rich History Of Discovery And Loss, Plants And Empire Explores The Movement, Triumph, And Extinction Of Knowledge In The Course Of Encounters Between Europeans And The Caribbean Population.--book Jacket. The Base For All Economics -- Voyaging Out -- Botanistes Voyageurs -- Maria Sibylla Merian -- Biopirates -- Who Owns Nature? -- Voyaging Botanical Assistants -- Creole Naturalists And Long-term Residents -- Armchair Botanists -- The Search For The Amazons -- Heroic Narratives -- Bioprospecting -- Drug Prospecting In The West Indies -- Biocontact Zones -- Secrets And Monopolies -- Drug Prospecting At Home -- Brokers Of International Knowledge -- Exotic Abortifacients -- Merian's Peacock Flower -- Abortion In Europe -- Abortion In The West Indies -- Abortion And The Slave Trade -- The Fate Of The Peacock Flower In Europe -- Animal Testing -- Self-experimentation -- Human Subjects -- Testing For Sexual Difference -- The Complications Of Race -- Abortifacients -- Linguistic Imperialism -- Empire And Naming The Kingdoms Of Nature -- Naming Conundrums -- Exceptions: Quassia And Cinchona -- Alternative Naming Practices -- Conclusion: Agnotology. Londa Schiebinger. Includes Bibliographical References (p. 286-297) And Index. A rich history of discovery and loss, 'Plants and Empire' explores the movement, triumph and extinction of knowledge in the course of encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean populations. Plants seldom figure in the grand narratives of war, peace, or even everyday life yet they are often at the center of high intrigue. In the eighteenth century, epic scientific voyages were sponsored by European imperial powers to explore the natural riches of the New World, and uncover the botanical secrets of its people. Bioprospectors brought back medicines, luxuries, and staples for their king and country. Risking their lives to discover exotic plants, these daredevil explorers joined with their sponsors to create a global culture of botany. But some secrets were unearthed only to be lost again. In this moving account of the abuses of indigenous Caribbean people and African slaves, Schiebinger describes how slave women brewed the "peacock flower" into an abortifacient, to ensure that they would bear no children into oppression. Yet, impeded by trade winds of prevailing opinion, knowledge of West Indian abortifacients never flowed into Europe. A rich history of discovery and loss, Plants and Empire explores the movement, triumph, and extinction of knowledge in the course of encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean populations In the 18th century, bioprospectors sponsored by European imperial powers brought back medicines, luxuries, and staples from the New World to their king and country. This book explores the movement, triumph, and extinction of knowledge in the course of encounters between Europeans and the Caribbean populations.