Creolised Science: Knowledge in the Eighteenth-Century Indo-Pacific

Brixius explores the production of knowledge on Mauritius, adapting foreign plants and knowledge to new environmental circumstances and a new socio-cultural space, centring the contributions of subaltern actors from Africa and Asia.

Format: Hardback
Length: 276 pages
Publication date: 04 April 2024
Publisher: Cambridge University Press

This extensive and meticulously researched study presents the first comprehensive exploration of cross-cultural plant knowledge in eighteenth-century Mauritius. Drawing upon the concept of creolisation, which describes the fusion of diverse cultural elements to form intricate and evolving entities, Brixius examines the production of botanical knowledge on the island, which lacked established European botanical traditions. Upon the introduction of foreign plants and knowledge to Mauritius, they underwent adaptation to the new environmental conditions and socio-cultural landscape. Brixius delves into the experiences and contributions of various actors involved in the island's botanical past, including French colonists, settlers, mediators, labourers, and enslaved people. By highlighting the overlooked roles of non-European actors from Africa and Asia within a diverse tapestry of cultivation traditions from around the world, she offers a truly global history of botanical knowledge.

Weight: 544g
Dimension: 159 x 237 x 23 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9781009200448