Conquering Nature in Spain and Its Empire, 1750-1850

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


Author: Helen Cowie
Publisher: Manchester University Press
Published: 09/01/2011
Pages: 256
Binding Type: Hardcover
Weight: 1.25lbs
Size: 9.30h x 6.40w x 1.00d
ISBN: 9780719084935

About the Author

Helen Cowie is a Research Fellow in History at the University of Plymouth