The geography of an empire licensed by providence. Review article
R. H. Drayton, 'Nature's Government: Science, Imperial Britain, and the 'Improvement' of the World'. The book is about botany and imperialism, traces the history of the idea that knowledge of nature would allow the optimum use of resources in the British empire, and argues t...
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| Published in | Annals of science Vol. 59; no. 4; pp. 413 - 418 |
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| Main Author | |
| Format | Journal Article |
| Language | English |
| Published |
01.10.2002
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| Online Access | Get full text |
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| Summary: | R. H. Drayton, 'Nature's Government: Science, Imperial Britain, and the 'Improvement' of the World'. The book is about botany and imperialism, traces the history of the idea that knowledge of nature would allow the optimum use of resources in the British empire, and argues that this is a key theme in world history. The ambitious project is kept manageable by the adoption of Kew Gardens as the lenspiece through which to chart the changing fortunes of British imperial botany in the 18C and 19C. It is the first coherent narrative about Kew's place in imperial history and the most penetrating study of science and empire to be published for a long time. (Quotes from original text) |
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| Bibliography: | ObjectType-Article-2 SourceType-Scholarly Journals-1 content type line 23 ObjectType-Feature-1 |
| ISSN: | 0003-3790 |