Book ID: CBB034953325

Nature's Colony: Empire, Nation and Environment in the Singapore Botanic Gardens (2017)

unapi

Barnard, Timothy P. (Author)


National University of Singapore Press


Publication Date: 2017
Physical Details: 304 pages
Language: English

Established in 1859, the Singapore Botanic Gardens are arguably the most important colonial botanic gardens in the world. Not only have the Gardens been important as a park for Singaporeans and visitors, they have had a significant role as a scientific institution and as a testing ground for tropical plantation agriculture implemented around the world. As Timothy P. Barnard shows in Nature’s Colony, underlying each of these uses is a broader story of the Botanic Gardens as an arena where power and the natural world meet and interact.   Initially conceived to exploit nature for the benefit of empire, the Gardens were part of a symbolic struggle by administrators, scientists, and gardeners to assert dominance within Southeast Asia’s tropical landscape, reflecting shifting understandings of power, science, and nature among local administrators and distant mentors in Britain. Consequently, as an outpost of imperial science, the Gardens were instrumental in the development of plantation crops, such as rubber and oil palm, which went on to shape landscapes across the globe. Since the independence of Singapore, the Gardens have played a role in the “greening” of the country and have been named as Singapore’s first World Heritage Site. Setting the Gardens alongside the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew, and botanic gardens in India, Ceylon, Mauritius, and the West Indies, Nature’s Colony provide the first in-depth look at the history of this influential institution.

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Reviewed By

Review Miles Powell (July 2018) Review of "Nature's Colony: Empire, Nation and Environment in the Singapore Botanic Gardens". Environmental History (pp. 608-609). unapi

Review R. W. Home (2019) Review of "Nature's Colony: Empire, Nation and Environment in the Singapore Botanic Gardens". Isis: International Review Devoted to the History of Science and Its Cultural Influences (pp. 422-423). unapi

Citation URI
https://data.isiscb.org/isis/citation/CBB034953325/

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Authors & Contributors
Barnard, Timothy P.
Powell, Miles Alexander
Kah Seng Loh
Joanna W. C. Lee
Charles Rowland Twidale
Churchill, Jennie
Concepts
Great Britain, colonies
Botany
Environmental history
Botanical gardens
Natural history
Colonialism
Time Periods
19th century
20th century
21st century
20th century, early
18th century
Places
Singapore
Malay; Malaysia
Apulia
Malaya
Sydney (Australia)
Guyana; British Guiana
Institutions
Vilniaus universitetas
Natural History Museum (London, England)
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