The Spread of Western Science
botanical lit.
George Basallas Three Phase Model
Phase 1: The Non-scientific Society or Nation
Provides a Source for Western Science
It is characterized by the European who
visits the new land, surveys and collects
its flora and fauna, studies its physical
features, and then takes the results of his
work back to Europe. The fields of
science that predominated that time
were Botany, Zoology, and Geology.
Phase 1 is an extension of geographical
exploration and appraisal of natural
resources.
Scientific Expeditions in America
Gonzalo Fernandez de Oviedo (16th century)
First naturalist in the New World.
His book tackles the natural history
of the West Indies
Thomas Harriot
Originator of a North American
group of naturalists.
By 1800, the region east of the Mississippi
river was explored, and through government
and privately supported expeditions, the
west part was explored.
Scientific Expeditions in the Pacific
Captain James Cook made three
voyages to the Pacific Ocean, during
which he achieved the first recorded
European contact with the eastern
coastline of Australia and the Hawaiian
Islands, and the first
recorded circumnavigation of New
Zealand.
Sir Joseph Banks: Australian Continent
Robert Brown gathered 3,900
Australian plant species and produced
Prodromus Florae Novae Holladiae et
Insulae Van Dieman, a classic in
Sir Joseph Dalton Hooker and Alfred
Russel Wallace: Antarctica and Malay
Archipelago.
China, Japan, and India posed new
problems for the spread of western
science.
Scientific Expeditions in Japan
Natural history was studied in Japan
prior to the arrival of the Christian
missionaries in the late 16th century, but
later on, it was dominated by the
Europeans with their superior
classificatory system.
Scientific Expeditions in China
Jesuit missionaries carried the new
astronomy of Copernicus and Galileo to
the learned men of China.
Botany caught the attention of the
Europeans that over 1,000 pages in a 2
vol. history of European botanical
discovers are devoted to China.
Scientific Expeditions in India
In pursuit of spices the Portuguese
opened a sea route to India bringing
with them the 1st European science
collectors to that continent.
In the 17th century, English missionaries
and physicians took over the task of
investigating Indian Natural History.
Botanic Gardens were later established
at Calcutta.
Scientific Expeditions in Africa
Africa was explored by the Portuguese
in the 15th century. There were European
settlements in the Cape area and in
South Africa.
 The most ambitious scientific expedition
was mounted by Napoleon Bonaparte as
part of his military campaign in Egypt.
European science underwent a
significant transformation while it was
in the process of being diffused to a
wider world.