Science, medicine, and criollo culture in late-colonial New Spain (Mexico)

The dissertation explores the practice of natural history, botany, archeology, anthropology and medicine in colonial Mexico between 1772 and 1804. In particular, it examines the interplay between scientific writing, practice, and colonialism. Spain's fiscal reliance on colonial Mexico was exacerbated during the 1790s and 1800s by the expense of bitter wars with the superior powers of France and England. Financial crises drove Spanish governments to increase dramatically the pressure on colonial resources and, concomitantly, to redefine their relationship with colonial subjects. Traditionally, New Spain had been governed by arbitration between the elite of white colonials (criollos) and the royal administration. However, drawing on Enlightenment conceptions of empire and trade, the Spanish crown refashioned the relationship between the colony and the metropolis. During the reigns of the Bourbon kings Charles III (r. 1759--1788) and Charles IV (r. 1789--1808), colonial Mexico gradually assumed the role of a highly taxed and strictly governed tributary colony.; The assertion of Spanish hegemony over the colony alienated the educated elite of New Spain, usually of Spanish descent and often priests, newspaper editors, military officers, or physicians. A further irritant developed as colonial intellectuals became aware of European philosophers' derogatory depictions of Mexico and its inhabitants. Criollo patriots responded by beginning to redefine themselves as Americans and Mexicans rather than Spaniards. Not yet willing to renounce their ties to Spain, they instead prepared the way for Mexican independence by praising the history, diversity, and economic prosperity of New Spain and formulating defenses in response to attacks by European critics.; Science and medicine played an integral role in defining the complicated relationship between colonizer and colonized. In the hands of the Spanish, scientific theory and practice facilitated the integration of New Spain into the empire by normalizing its environment according to European categories and provided a schema for the efficient exploitation of colonial resources. Mexican intellectuals objected to aspects of this program, and responded with their own scientific epistemology which emphasized local expertise, pride in the Mexican environment, and an appreciation for the heritage of the indigenous people of Mexico.