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SUMMARY:Bernardino Gomes' quest for 'local knowledge': ipecacuanha in Braz
 il around 1800 - Sophia Spielmann (Technische Universität Berlin)
DTSTART:20220207T130000Z
DTEND:20220207T140000Z
UID:TALK168212@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Olin Moctezuma
DESCRIPTION:In the 18th and 19th centuries\, dried ipecacuanha root was hi
 ghly sought after in Europe because of its medicinal effectiveness as an e
 metic\, but little was known about its geographic origin and the plant its
 elf. Bernardino Gomes (1768–1823)\, a Portuguese physician\, was the fir
 st to describe in detail how the roots were collected and traded in Brazil
  while participating in a military expedition along the Atlantic coast bet
 ween 1797 and 1801. His treatise (1801) also provided a comprehensive bota
 nical description that was later translated into Latin and published in th
 e _Transactions of the Linnean Society_ by his colleague\, Félix de Avela
 r Brotero (1744–1828). Gomes' observations can be analyzed in the contex
 t of Portugal's efforts to gain 'local knowledge' on the Brazilian territo
 ry and its resources. This entanglement of scholarly and economic interest
 s is particularly visible in Gomes' concern about the plant's increasing r
 arity. Ipecacuanha was not systematically cultivated\, but collected in th
 e Atlantic Forest by predominantly indigenous collectors. The demand for t
 he roots had grown significantly during the 18th century and already\, the
  plant had become extinct in some regions. This talk examines where and by
  which methods Gomes acquired knowledge on ipecacuanha as well as the appl
 ications he envisioned for his findings. It is part of a larger ongoing pr
 oject in which I aim to contribute to critical examinations of colonial sc
 ience and commerce\, especially regarding Europe's appropriation of plant 
 resources and indigenous knowledge.
LOCATION:Zoom and Seminar Room 2\, Department of History and Philosophy of
  Science
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