The science of useful nature in Central America : landscapes, networks and practical enlightenment, 1784-1838 / Sophie Brockmann.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Brockmann, Sophie, 1986- author.

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Central America--History--To 1821.

Central America.

Central America--History--1821-1951.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (xii, 267 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Place of Publication:

Cambridge : Cambridge University Press, 2020.

Summary:

In this ambitious new study, Sophie Brockmann argues that interactions with landscape and environment were central to the construction of Central American identities in the Age of Enlightenment. She argues that new intellectual connections and novel ways of understanding landscapes had a transformative impact on political culture, as patriotic reformers sought to improve the region's fortunes by applying scientific and 'useful' knowledge gathered from local and global networks to the land. These reformers established networks that extended into the countryside and far beyond Central America's borders. Tracing these networks and following the bureaucrats, priests, labourers, merchants and scholars within them, Brockmann shows how they made a lasting impact by defining a new place for the natural world in narratives of nation and progress.

Contents:

Machine generated contents note: Introduction. A kingdom of vast extension; 1. Landscape, ruins, and governance; 2. Networks of knowledge and action; 3. Making enlightenment local; 4. Useful geography in practice; 5. Transforming environments; 6. Independence and useful nature; Conclusions; Glossary of Colonial administrative terms; Bibliography; Index..

Notes:

Title from publisher's bibliographic system (viewed on 07 Sep 2020).

Includes bibliographical references and index.

ISBN:

1-108-37311-9

1-108-36761-5