Early modern natural history: Contributions from the Americas and India

Abstract

The early success of its oceanic voyages brought contrary pulls to bear on Europe, with the practical needs of the hour standing in contradistinction to the age-old religious authority, sectarian antagonism and the recovered Greco-Roman intellectual tradition. How in course of time the former triumphed over the latter in the case of natural history is an interesting and instructive line of enquiry. This article examines in some detail how the Materia Medica of the Americas and India were incorporated into the European mainstream. When the English East India Company was established in 1600, the telescope had not yet come into existence. It is no more than a coincidence that the telescope was invented in the Netherlands (van Helden 1977) the same year (1608) the first English ship reached India. This brings home the important point that modern science and technology grew hand in hand with maritime exploration, colonial expansion and domination over nature and fellow human beings. And yet a distinction needs to be made between exact sciences on the one hand and botany and zoology on the other. A sailor with skill, experience and luck could still steer his ship safely even before the benefits of scientific navigation became available, but there was no way to avoid disease and death on ship and in distant lands. While developments in astronomy and related disciplines were an all-European affair, in the case of natural history and healthcare, traditional knowledge and wisdom of the local people had to be tapped. The requirements operated at two distinct levels. There were health concerns and needs of sailors and administrators who went to the distant colonies. At the same time Europe was interested in new medicines and exotic remedies from America and Asia. Distant lands introduced Europeans to new diseases, which called for new cures and remedies. At the same time new drugs could be tried for old diseases as well. Medical botany was a necessity. Scientific botany emerged from it. Colonialism in course of time created a