This chapter is concerned with the role of natural history in the eastern Portuguese empire during the 16th century. It first considers the role of descriptions of nature in Portuguese travel literature promoted by the Portuguese Discoveries and shows that personal observation was, in general, important in the presentation of these reports. This feature is in accordance with the increasing role of the direct observation of nature in European natural history. Nevertheless, descriptions of nature tended to be brief and arbitrary. The chapter then examines the role of collecting information on medicinal drugs and other natural resources for the Estado da India, the Portuguese Crown and general commerce. It illustrates how practices of bioprospecting were crucial for preserving the life of the Portuguese living in the hot climate of the eastern Portuguese empire. It also emphasises the fact that the search for natural resources in India was important from the beginning of the 16th century onwards and was conducted under the close scrutiny of the Portuguese Crown and of the high officials of the empire. The resulting compilations were classified and they could be accessed only under special conditions.
...MoreBook Sánchez, Antonio; Fontes da Costa, Palmira; Leitão, Henrique de Sousa (2021) Ciência, Tecnologia E Medicina Na Construção de Portugal. 1: Novos Horizontes (Sécs. XV a XVII).
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