Naturalistes sans frontières: Geographies of Natural Knowledge in the Hispanic World, 1750–1808

My paper examines the transatlantic dimensions of Spanish science in the years 1750-1808. During this period, Spain made strenuous efforts to survey and exploit the natural productions of her overseas possessions, choreographing a series of scientific expeditions to the New World and displaying American fauna and flora in metropolitan gardens and museums. This paper explores the geographies of natural knowledge in the Hispanic World considering how the place in which ‘scientific’ knowledge was formulated affected its nature and credibility. It also questions the traditional dichotomies drawn between imperial/central knowledge and colonial/peripheral knowledge, emphasising instead the permeability of these categories.

In order to illustrate the transient nature of natural knowledge in late imperial Spain, my paper focuses on the careers of two genuinely transatlantic individuals: Pedro Franco Dávila and Félix de Azara. Dávila was a creole merchant from Guayaquil who assembled an impressive natural history collection whilst resident in Paris and was appointed the first director of the Real Gabinete de Historia Natural, Madrid in 1771. Azara was an Aragonese soldier who spent 20 years stationed in the remote province of Paraguay. He devoted his spare time to studying local fauna, sending specimens back to Spain and making extensive notes on their behaviour which were later published in multiple languages. Both Dávila and Azara contributed significantly to the imperial scientific project, yet the different theatres in which they conducted their research – the European museum and the American field – strongly influenced the emphasis and reception of their work. This paper therefore evaluates whether place or birth or place of work determined the methods and approaches of the Spanish or creole naturalist in this period. It also emphasises the fluidity of natural knowledge at a time when ideas, men and the occasional globetrotting anteater crossed the Atlantic with surprising frequency.