From Foreign to Native: Acclimatization, Colonial Science, and the Interplay of Local Knowledge in Ecuador

In nineteenth-century Ecuador, the introduction and adaptation of foreign species—such as silkworms, strawberries, fruit trees, and later eucalyptus—were deeply entangled with earlier Enlightenment-era debates on nature, climate, and human intervention. Acclimatization projects were not merely agricultural pursuits; they became instruments of modernization. This paper examines how scientists, government officials, and local communities navigated acclimatization projects as spaces where colonial scientific practices intersected with local agricultural and ecological knowledges. It argues that, while European scientists categorized plants as "native," "naturalized," or "invasive" within a universalist framework, successful acclimatization efforts challenged these classifications. Many introduced species that thrived in the Ecuadorian highlands not only became integrated into national identity as native but also officially claimed by the government as part of Ecuador’s natural heritage.