The Science of Useful Nature in Central America
Landscapes, Networks and Practical Enlightenment, 1784–1838

Demonstrates the role of local and global scientific knowledge about landscapes and environment in shaping Central America.

Sophie Brockmann (Author)

9781108431620, Cambridge University Press

Paperback / softback, published 27 October 2022

282 pages
22.8 x 15.2 x 1.6 cm, 0.41 kg

'Brockmann contributes an impressive wealth of archival material to this growing literature by drawing attention to the often-overlooked case of Guatemala. The study is at its best when it stays clear of the more fashionable theoretical trends, to build persuasive case studies with little-known material.' Miruna Achim, Technology and Culture

In this ambitious new study, Sophie Brockmann argues that interactions with landscape and environment were central to the construction of Central American identities in the Age of Enlightenment. She argues that new intellectual connections and novel ways of understanding landscapes had a transformative impact on political culture, as patriotic reformers sought to improve the region's fortunes by applying scientific and 'useful' knowledge gathered from local and global networks to the land. These reformers established networks that extended into the countryside and far beyond Central America's borders. Tracing these networks and following the bureaucrats, priests, labourers, merchants and scholars within them, Brockmann shows how they made a lasting impact by defining a new place for the natural world in narratives of nation and progress.

Introduction. A kingdom of vast extension
1. Landscape, ruins, and governance
2. Networks of knowledge and action
3. Making enlightenment local
4. Useful geography in practice
5. Transforming environments
6. Independence and useful nature
Conclusions
Glossary of colonial administrative terms
Bibliography
Index.

Subject Areas: History of science [PDX], Historical geography [HBTP], Social & cultural history [HBTB], History of the Americas [HBJK]