Page 13 - Early Naturalists of the Black Range

Spanish Naturalists

We sometimes fall into the trap of believing that the Spanish, especially those who explored and conquered the Americas, were not naturalists; that the British, and less so Germans and French, were the naturalists of the early European explorations. That is not the case. The Spanish incursions in this area were similar to those of the French, British, and American. For the most part, the early travels into this area were about exploitation, conquering, and settling. It is, generally, only after those basic inclinations were met that the study of the natural world began in earnest. Most of the study here did not begin until the mid 1800’s.
In many areas, the Spanish carried out extensive studies in natural history. For instance, the botanists Hipólito Ruiz López and José Antonio Pavón Jiménez, referred to as “Ruiz & Pav” in botanical literature, published the five volume Flora Peruviana, et Chilensis, sive, Descriptiones et icones plantarum Peruvianarum, et Chilensium, secundum systema Linnaeanum digestae, cum characteribus plurium generum evulgatorum reformatis between
1798 and 1802. That work (which includes 325 plates) describes the flora of Peru and Chile. A plate from that work is shown above right.
At about the same time, Antonio José Cavanilles, a Spanish taxonomic botanist (Cav. in botanical literature) was naming more than 100 genera and describing more than 2200 plant species for the first time. Fifty-four of those genera descriptions are still used today.
The efforts of these men followed those of Martín de Sessé, José Mariano Mociño, and others associated with the Royal Botanical Expedition to New Spain (1787 to 1803). This expedition was designed as a series of “excursions”, each focused on a different
area. These efforts led to the description of 797 genera and 1327 species. The work was not limited to botany, but rather encompassed the full range of natural history. The expedition was so successful that additional expeditions, to Central America and the Caribbean, followed.
And, of course, the first scientific expedition in the Americas was conducted by Francisco Hernández between 1572-1577. The focus of his efforts was the botany of Mexico and Central America.
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