Economics & Politics.
During the colonial period, botany was a strategic economic and political effort meant to “render service to the state"[1]. The study and cultivation of plants was closely related to colonial expansion[2], and for this reason plant pirating became a trend through the – for king, for country, for personal or corporate gain[3].
There was a 16th century notion of the Americas as the original Garden of Eden[4]. At the time of Thiery de Menonville’s journey, the French island colony of Saint Domingue was the richest and most profitable of the European colonies[5]. Settlers in New Spain, where this story takes place, had a habit of collecting plants to secure monopolies[6]. The Hapsburg regime that ruled Spain at the time kept policy secretive. This culture of acana imperii, a tendency to keep the details of the empire unpublished[7], was a big obstacle for Thiery de Menonville.
New Spain followed a loose political structure with power was in the hands of localized elites[8]. The Hapsburg regime's project was to turn local societies into subordinate appendages of "a new, revitalized modern empire"[9]. This resulted in obvious tension between Spanish imperialists wanting a single metrapole and local communities wanting local control[10]. When the king began selling important offices to the highest bidders without consideration of the individual's capacity to actually fulfill the responsibility, the colonial administration, particularly in the seventeenth century, became massively corrupt[11]. Meanwhile, “many Indian pueblos found it necessary to lease their lands to individuals—Spaniards in particular—to secure the funds with which to satisfy ever-pressing daily needs”[12]. During the 18th century, a series of additional expenses was imposed on native communities, the first occurring in 1770 when Spain forcibly placed teachers in each pueblo who were to be paid out of community funds. Sixteen years later, pueblos were ordered to pay 2 percent of their annual community income to the salaries of colonial intendants. In addition to these taxes, they were required to financially support their parish priests. This series of unjust payments causes pueblos to fall behind in payments. During the 18th century, their debt equaled 1.5 million pesos[13]. In the 1770s, however, ideas about political freedom and emancipation accelerated and, in 1810, these tribute payments were abolished.
There was a 16th century notion of the Americas as the original Garden of Eden[4]. At the time of Thiery de Menonville’s journey, the French island colony of Saint Domingue was the richest and most profitable of the European colonies[5]. Settlers in New Spain, where this story takes place, had a habit of collecting plants to secure monopolies[6]. The Hapsburg regime that ruled Spain at the time kept policy secretive. This culture of acana imperii, a tendency to keep the details of the empire unpublished[7], was a big obstacle for Thiery de Menonville.
New Spain followed a loose political structure with power was in the hands of localized elites[8]. The Hapsburg regime's project was to turn local societies into subordinate appendages of "a new, revitalized modern empire"[9]. This resulted in obvious tension between Spanish imperialists wanting a single metrapole and local communities wanting local control[10]. When the king began selling important offices to the highest bidders without consideration of the individual's capacity to actually fulfill the responsibility, the colonial administration, particularly in the seventeenth century, became massively corrupt[11]. Meanwhile, “many Indian pueblos found it necessary to lease their lands to individuals—Spaniards in particular—to secure the funds with which to satisfy ever-pressing daily needs”[12]. During the 18th century, a series of additional expenses was imposed on native communities, the first occurring in 1770 when Spain forcibly placed teachers in each pueblo who were to be paid out of community funds. Sixteen years later, pueblos were ordered to pay 2 percent of their annual community income to the salaries of colonial intendants. In addition to these taxes, they were required to financially support their parish priests. This series of unjust payments causes pueblos to fall behind in payments. During the 18th century, their debt equaled 1.5 million pesos[13]. In the 1770s, however, ideas about political freedom and emancipation accelerated and, in 1810, these tribute payments were abolished.
[1] Schiebinger and Swan, 19.
[2] Schiebinger, 7. [3] Canizares-Esquerra, 83. [4] Schiebinger and Swan, 2. [5] Schiebinger [6] Canizares-Esquerra, 7. [7] Canizares-Esquerra, 23. [8] Canizares-Esquerra, 47. [9] Canizares-Esquerra, 13. [10] Schiebinger and Swan, 136. |