An Empire Transformed: Remolding Bodies and Landscapes in the Restoration Atlantic by Kate Luce Mulry (review).

Abstract

Reviewed by: An Empire Transformed: Remolding Bodies and Landscapes in the Restoration Atlantic by Kate Luce Mulry Eric H. Ash (bio) An Empire Transformed: Remolding Bodies and Landscapes in the Restoration Atlantic By Kate Luce Mulry. New York: New York University Press, 2021. Pp. 361. The Restoration of the English monarchy in 1660, after years of civil war and various experiments in ruling England without a king under Oliver Cromwell, was both a hopeful and a nervous time. The return of King Charles II inaugurated a period of rebuilding and renewed stability, but memories of political unrest, religious strife, violence, and bloodshed were still very fresh. To reunite his fractious nation and reestablish English rule in its various overseas colonies, Charles and his advisors promoted a number of projects intended to improve the physical environment, both in England and across the empire. Kate Luce Mulry's book makes an important contribution to the understanding of those projects—and the many intertwined purposes they were intended to serve. Mulry succeeds in weaving together threads of political history, the history of medicine and public health, and environmental history to tell a compelling story: the Restoration drive to restore the English monarchical state and empire by improving the health, character, and productivity of its restive and far-flung subjects through enhancements to their environment. This is a very ambitious project with a lot of moving parts. It explores a series of case studies, including the many proposals for rebuilding a safer and healthier London in the aftermath of the 1665 plague epidemic and the Great Fire of 1666; land drainage projects in the English Fens, Ireland, and the Delaware River valley in North America; numerous projects to improve lands and increase food production throughout England and its empire; and the desire to transform the newly-acquired colony of Jamaica into an imperial garden of sorts, not only to grow valuable plants "naturalized" from the East Indies but also to create a paradise of order, harmony, and sweet aromas that would soothe a wild and unruly colonial populace. The great success of the book lies in Mulry's skillful linking of public health, agricultural productivity, natural philosophy, and political priorities of the restored monarchy. Draining wetlands perceived by most as "waste" land and planting food crops there would provide wholesome sustenance for English subjects, a vital concern for any king who hoped to foster political stability and establish his own legitimacy. It would also impose a sense of order on a chaotic landscape and improve the perceived character of its inhabitants, transforming them from so-called rude and lazy pastoralists into good, honest, hard-working English farmers and subjects. This was true whether the land and people in question were in the riot-prone Fens, in rebellious Ireland, or in the wilds of England's North American colonies. Likewise, planting an orderly and profitable garden of sweet-smelling [End Page 1243] plants in Jamaica would assert English authority and ownership over land that the English myopically perceived to be wild and unclaimed. But this plan was developed in conjunction with a plan to create a similar garden in London, where sweet smells might also be used to calm a potentially rebellious urban population. Moreover, the successful transplantation of foreign plants to Jamaican soil would demonstrate that it was possible for English colonizers to transplant themselves as well, to become "naturalized" to Jamaica without necessarily losing their English identities in the process. Many of the projects that Mulry explores in the book did not come to fruition; some were only partially realized, and some never made it past the proposal stage. She makes a convincing argument, however, that unrealized projects can provide important clues regarding the goals, priorities, and sense of possibilities shared by the king and his advisors, the Council of Foreign Plantation, the nascent Royal Society, and entrepreneurial landowners and colonizers, among others. Complicating the common historical view that Charles II had little real interest in the scientific investigations of the Royal Society, Mulry shows how that body served the king as a "Parliament of Nature," promoting a number of improvement projects that had the crown's attention and favor. Her commitment to...