Natural History in the Age of Revolutions, 1776-1848

Historians describe the period from the mid-eighteenth to the mid-nineteenth century as 'the age of revolutions' and are increasingly realizing that people around the world were caught up in its tumultuous developments. Based in the Department of History and Philosophy of Science at the University of Cambridge, and working with project partners from the museum sector, this project will investigate how the working practices of naturalists adapted to political agendas of imperial expansion, nation state formation, and revolutionary movements during this period, and how their visions of natural and human diversity supported or resisted these agendas in turn.

Specifically, we will examine how naturalists used printed books, manuscripts, illustrations and specimens to manage information flows in a world torn between imperial expansion and revolutionary ambitions and involving diverse groups across the British Empire ranging from missionaries and military surgeons to entrepreneurs and Polynesian elders. The project thus also responds to the current need to address the colonial past by exploring hidden histories of the legacies of empire and by unlocking contributions of so-called subalterns to what too often is considered a uniquely Western heritage.

Encouraging scholars, students, policy makers, institutions and the public to think beyond narratives of the global spread of Western science, the project will reframe ideas about the information economy of natural history around 1800 and how it shaped modern perspectives of nature. Ideas of deep time, 'natural' affinities connecting all forms of life, and an economy of nature characterised by a 'struggle for life,' all took root during the age of revolutions. Initiating the examination and reinterpretation of collections through working with our project partners- the Natural History Museum, London, the Linnaean Society of London, the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, State Library of New South Wales, the University of Otago, and the University of Cambridge Museums and collections- we will concentrate on the legacy of lesser-known naturalists in curatorial positions in formulating these ideas.

Recent research has established that global networks provided frameworks for new imperial initiatives but also means to coordinate resistance against these. Our research will complement these insights by showing how a new class of naturalists managed global information flows between indigenous knowledge sources and a variety of 'knowledge brokers' and 'go-betweens' on the one hand, and wealthy patrons, state bureaucracies and reading publics on the other. Our guiding hypothesis is that this new-found role of facilitating global communication defined an ethos of public service as well as distinct forms of expertise that survive to this day.

Research and engagement will be facilitated by concentrating on collections related to specific naturalists. Examples include the manuscripts, illustrations and specimens compiled by Alexander Anderson, whose collection includes botanical artworks produced by indigenous and enslaved West Indian artists. Similarly, Robert Brown relied on indigenous informants when circumnavigating Australia, compiling a vast natural history collection at the British Museum that he used to develop new approaches in biogeography and systematics. The project will facilitate future research and exhibitions by integrating information on provenance into institutional catalogues and databases. Connecting natural history collections to the colonial past, we will disseminate a new understanding of this period through public exhibitions and a series of public talks, an accessible illustrated edited book and article, a project website and social media. We will also advise on and participate in project partners' outreach events to engage different audiences with new visions of how natural history contributed to the rise of the modern world.