A História Natural e a divulgação pedagógica das classificações da quina no final do XVIII, como parte de um programa ilustrado de produção de conhecimento botânico na América espanhola.

Abstract

In Latin America at the end of the 18th century, natural history had become an accessible field of knowledge for a public that spread beyond a few botanists and physicians, because of the presence of communication enterprises such as the newspaper Mercurio Peruano, which was published in Lima between 1790 and 1795. This article shows that, as a field of knowledge defined by a method based on observation, experience, and the production of nomenclatures, natural history found in native products, such as quinine, the opportunity to produce discoveries, classifications, handling procedures, and merchandise from America, which were destined to contribute to the glory of Bourbon’s Spain. At the same time, and with precocious patriotism, the young authors of Mercurio Peruano placed the continent and the men who here dedicated themselves to science on an equal footing with their colleagues in Europe, projecting the possibility of a link of knowledge connecting “the mountain”, Lima, and Madrid