Dissertations, Theses, and Capstone Projects
Date of Degree
6-2022
Document Type
Dissertation
Degree Name
Ph.D.
Program
History
Advisor
David Troyansky
Committee Members
Helena Rosenblatt
Barbara Naddeo
Elizabeth Heath
Julie Landweber
Subject Categories
European History | History of Science, Technology, and Medicine
Keywords
Eighteenth century, France, Transportation History, Colonial Botany, Garden of the King
Abstract
During the eighteenth century, the Jardin du Roi in Paris was the leading monarchical institution for the collection and categorization of plants. A global network emerged that circulated thousands of plants and seeds. Historians of botany have focused on the Jardin du Roi in Paris and the centralization of the network in the hands of different actors, including André Thouin. The dissertation shifts away from a Paris-centered model to one that includes gardens across the metropole and the colonial world. It focuses on the histories of the botanical gardens in l’Ile de France (Mauritius), Cayenne (French Guiana), Brest, Bordeaux, Paris, and Montpellier. Each garden faced distinct challenges. These challenges were financial and material, and often resulted from both human error and environmental factors. The dissertation focuses not just on the successful transfer of plants and seeds, but on the plants that were lost, forgotten, purposefully ignored, or even stolen. It argues that botanical policies spearheaded during the 1770s remained central during the French Revolution. These policies included the expansion and creation of botanical gardens. And yet, because of repeated failures in transportation and acclimatization, we see severe ruptures in the botanical network.
Recommended Citation
Tunney, Sophie R., "The Lost and Forgotten Plants:
French Botanical Networks in Provincial and Colonial France (1760–1825)" (2022). CUNY Academic Works.
https://academicworks.cuny.edu/gc_etds/4888