Enlightened alliance Nature, botany and France’s expansion to the East Indies: the colonization of the Mascarenes (1665-1775) Elisabeth de Cambiaire A thesis in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy School of Humanities & Languages Faculty of Arts & Social Sciences March 2016 http://doi.org/10.26190/0678-yp06 Table of contents Acknowledgements p. i Abbreviations p. ii One: Introduction p. 1 Two: The management of the world’s diversity during European expansion in the seventeenth and early eighteenth centuries p.15 1 The botanical content in primary sources 2 The world’s riches: the inventory of exotic flora 2.1 A worldwide inventory 2.2 The search for trade commodities 2.2.1 East Indian goods 2.2.2 Prospecting: plant knowledge on site or ‘colonial’ knowledge 2.2.3 Knowledge acquisition at a distance in scientific centres 2.2.4 The study of commercial drugs 3 Aboard and abroad: the rearrangement of the world’s flora 3.1 Plant supplies along maritime routes 3.2 Naval wisdom 3.3 The spread of plants and maritime life 3.3.1 Fruits 3.3.2 Medicinal plants 3.4 Gardens of trade companies 4 French settlement on the Ile de Bourbon 4.1 An idyllic port d’escale 4.2 The evaluation of the Ile de Bourbon by the Compagnie des Indes 5 The revival of the myth of the Golden Age 5.1 The fantasy of idyllic lands in voyages 5.2 The mythic image of fruits 5.3 Fruitful myths on sea routes 5.3.1 The Mascarenes 5.3.2 The Cape of Good Hope Conclusion Three: Power and science: The riches of the East Indies within reach (1690–1718) p. 53 1- The historical context in France 2- The mastering of the environment by the French Nation 2.1 The Ile de Bourbon in the global strategy of the French state 2.1.1 The improvement of knowledge acquisition 2.1.2 The improvement of production by plant acclimatisation 2.1.3 The state’s mobilisation for the building of a botanical network with the East Indies 2.2 The delegation of power: colonial management from a distance 2.2.1 The administrators: field managers 2.2.2 The diversification of production and cultivation tests in the Company’s habitations 3- The mastering of natural knowledge in Europe 3.1 Exotic flora and European science 3.1.1 The reliability of knowledge 3.1.2 Knowledge communication at a distance 3.2 Botany in France in the early eighteenth century 3.2.1 The system and the name 3.2.2 Botany in the Royal Garden of Paris 3.3 Dealing with newness: exotic nature imported 3.3.1 Cross-referencing: correspondence, herbaria and plant specimens 3.3.2 The plant specimen 3.3.3 Co-operation for the mastery of natural knowledge: exotic nature transferred Conclusion Four: The delocalisation of action for the mastery of natural resources: network, patronage and expert knowledge (1719–1740) p. 85 1- The historical context 2- France’s trade strategy in the Indian Ocean 3- The transoceanic management of resources 3.1 The network of the Compagnie des Indes 3.2 The transoceanic network of the Royal Garden 4- The long-term management of the Compagnie des Indes: experimentations and assessments 4.1 The diversification program in the Mascarenes 4.2 The administrative evaluation of exotic products with experiments 4.3 The scientific evaluation of exotic products 4.4 The nation’s engagement: the example of coffee 4.5 Agronomic experiments of the Compagnie des Indes 5- The scientific centre and the circulation of knowledge 5.1 The study of exotic nature at a distance: specimen and history 5.2 The study of exotic nature in the colonies: the correspondents 5.3 The botanical expedition in the East Indies: the voyageur botanist 6- Dealing with otherness: the globalisation of botany 6.1 The botanical garden as the nursery of the world’s resources 6.2 The Royal Garden of Paris as the centre of botany: exotic knowledge legitimised 6.3 Foreign knowledge and European botany: impact on concept and method 6.4 The world’s resources and European expansion: the globalisation of botany Conclusion Five: Science and politics: the strategic exploitation of the échelle des Indes (1740-1775) p. 128 1- The historical context 2- The political approach to nature in international competition 2.1 Challenges related to the replenishment issue 2.1.1 A colony and a replenishment station: profit and security 2.1.2 The maritime components of Indian campaigns 2.2 Natural resources in global competition: the exploration of the world 3- The rationalisation of nature in the échelle des Indes 3.1 The strategic value of natural resources 3.1.1 Wood 3.1.2 Spices 3.2 The limitation of natural resources 3.3 The improvement of vital supplies 3.4 The strategic place: the garden of the Company 3.5 Forest regulations 4- The Physiocratic management of the période royale in the Mascarenes 4.1 Poivre: the politico-philosophical approach to nature 4.2 The Physiocratic management of the période royale 4.2.1 The King’s instructions 4.2.2 Poivre’s administration 5- Botany in international competition 5.1 Mastery of the world’s diversity: the example of spices 5.1.1 Commercial strategy: acclimatisation and substitution 5.1.2 Bougainville’s circumnavigation 5.2 The strategic study of the world’s resources 5.2.1 Fodder 5.2.2 Medicinal plants 5.2.3 Wood 5.3 The colonial royal garden 5.4 Universal botany, classification and nomenclature Conclusion Six: Conclusion p. 183 Appendix 1: Botanical index p. 190 Archival sources – Manuscripts p. 192 Bibliography p. 197 Acknowledgement I wish to thank all the people who have been by my side along this journey, first of all my children who provided me so much support and love, as well as my mother and my close family. The idea of this research has been inspired by two friends, Bernard Leveneur and Olivier Damée, fond of history and gardens, who have always been enthusiastic about my research. I thank them for their support. Special thanks are due to Bernard, who so kindly helped me by providing me with my first archival references and moreover, rare books. I owe much gratitude and thanks to my principal supervisor, Nicolas Rasmussen. I am fortunate to have had his sound advice and guidance. Thanks to his useful and practical feedback, I have strengthened my ideas and, accordingly, deepened my research in primary sources. Nic has been patient and comprehensive with respect to my language and academic background differences. I also want to thank John Gascoigne, Martyn Lyon, and Katrina Gulliver who have provided me with strong advice as co-supervisors or joint supervisors. They have showed interest in my research and they have commented helpfully upon my chapters in various stages. I am grateful to all for their great help. I want to give my deepest thanks to my dear friend Judie Cross, who has been encouraging me with my research since the very beginning. Her constant support has been more than helpful during these last few years. She has been an inspiring friend to whom I owe much. In like manner, I want to thank Janet Bell, my other dear friend here in Australia, who spent time listening to me, exchanging points of view and proofreading pieces of work. They both always gave me faith and energy to continue. I would like to thank the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle de Paris. I spent long hours at the Bibliothèque Centrale, where I found the staff very co-operative. I also want to thank Denis Lamy who was at the Laboratoire of Phanérogamie, and who gave me helpful feedback. As well, my thanks go to the staff of the Bibliothèque de l’Académie des sciences. I wish to acknowledge the University of New South Wales for providing me with such excellent research support and guidance. I especially wish to thank the School of Humanities and Languages and the Graduate Research School as well. With their support, I have been able to complete all necessary research work and to participate, for instance, in the George Rudé and the History of Science Society conferences. My thanks go to the Library and the Learning Centre: all the staff have all been very helpful. i Abbreviations ADR : Archives Départementales de la Réunion AN : Archives Nationales ANOM : Archives Nationales d’Outre-Mer , Aix-en-Provence AS : Académie des Sciences BCMNHN : Bibliothèque Centrale du Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle BNF : Bibliothèque Nationale de France Co : Compagnie des Indes DFC: Dépôt des Fortifications des Colonies IF : Institut de France MNHN : Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle RT : Recueil Trimestriel de documents et travaux inédits pour servir à l'Histoire des Mascareignes Françaises (Compilation of primary source documents) SHD : Service Historique de la Défense - Vincennes fol : folio ii INTRODUCTION 1 Introduction In his major work, Naturalis Historia, Pliny the Elder (23-79 AD) reported that back in 150 BC the Roman senator Cato had presented a fresh fig brought from Carthage to the Senate in order to warn of the threat Carthage posed.1 This city in North Africa, only three days’ sail from Rome on the opposite shore of the Mediterranean Sea, was the centre of an empire. To strengthen his oration and convince his peers of the proximity of the city, Cato showed the fresh fig and urged that Carthage must be destroyed.2 The year after, the Roman Republic put an end to Carthage’s supremacy in the third Punic War.