Abstract

CONSTANTINO ORTIZ, María Eugenia. Instruction and practice regarding the collection of natural species throughout New Spain, 1787-1803. Cuicuilco [online]. 2011, vol.18, n.52, pp.173-189. ISSN 0185-1659.

In New Spain, the practice of collecting natural species was made public in 1790 after the publication of an article in the journal Gaceta de México about the inauguration of the Natural History Cabinet owned by the Spanish explorer, José Longinos Martínez. The creation of the Cabinet was the result of two factors: the Circular Instruction sent from Madrid to the colonies and provinces of New Spain in 1776, ordering the search for natural species to improve the collections of the Royal Cabinet of Natural History; along with the arrival of the Botanical Expedition to New Spain to execute the orders of the royal warrant expedited in 1787. The paradigms implicit in both events triggered the collecting of natural species throughout New Spain. The appropriation of the local species is reflected materially in the collections that the expeditionaries hoarded in New Spain and then sent to Madrid.

Keywords : Collecting; cabinets; natural history; New Spain; Botanical Expedition.