botany and the enlightenment--1/22/25

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Today's selection-- from The Scientist Turned Spy by Patrick Spero . André Michaux's journey in botany.

“At some point, Le Monnier invited the grieving Michaux to his Versailles cottage. Perhaps Le Monnier was already familiar with Michaux's scientific proclivities, or perhaps what was intended as a simple kindness to a troubled neighbor led to the discovery of their common interest in studying plants. In any case, this shared passion laid the foundation for a lasting friendship that would change Michaux's life—and the world of science. Sensing scientific promise in his young neighbor, Le Monnier gave Michaux a botanical experiment to gauge his skill—and to distract him from his anguish. He asked Michaux to try to grow madder, a plant whose roots were used for orange dye, and a special type of barley on his farm. Le Monnier was right. The work consoled Michaux. It also con­sumed him.

“Michaux passed the test, and Le Monnier continued training his new pupil in botany. He also introduced his protege to other members of the king's inner circle, including Charles-Claude de Flahaut de La Billarderie, better known as Comte d'Angiviller. Angiviller was the director of the king's buildings and grounds, one of the most important positions in the king's court. Botanical gardens fell under his purview and were among his top priorities. The king, and the advisors who surrounded him, viewed botany as a cutting-edge field of research that could transform their society. Fam­ines still threatened eighteenth-century Europe, and botanical research, both through the discovery and cultivation of new plants and through the development of agricultural practices, could not only improve the bounty for French tables but also had the potential to boost the French economy by providing new exports. Botany, then, was not just a science; it was also of significant national interest. After hearing of Michaux's abilities, Angiviller decided that he too would offer a challenge to this promising young botanist. Angiviller wanted to know if French soil could support a special type of Ethiopian grass recently sent to him by a British explorer. Michaux accepted the assignment, and his success once again astounded his superior. It was the start of another close working relationship that would continue for decades.

André Michaux

“The buzz surrounding Michaux soon reached Bernard de Jussieu, another leading botanist in France and the manager of the gardens at Trianon Palace at Versailles. In 1777, Michaux quit his farm and took up quarters with Jussieu. Jussieu, like Le Monnier, came from a distinguished scien­tific family. His father, Christophe, was an apothecary in Lyon who had published a book on the use of herbs in medicinal cures. In fact, much of botany's origins rested in the knowledge of apothecaries like Christophe de Jussieu. They practiced what was called materia medica, or the study of herbs for medical purposes, a connection that continued into Michaux's time and carries through to this day in pharmacology. Three of Christophe de Jussieu's sons decided to dedicate their lives to the pursuit of plants, likely fueled by their father's interest in the natural world. They, however, were born on the cusp of the Enlightenment and helped transform the knowl­edge of apothecaries into the work of botanists. Antoine, born in 1686, became a professor at the Jardin du Roi, perhaps the most prestigious position a botanist could hold. His younger brother Bernard, born in 1699, followed Antoine's path, literally. He joined him on botanizing expeditions and later landed his own post alongside his brother at the Jardin. Joseph, born in 1704, was a polymath who undertook an expedition to Latin Amer­ica in 1735 to make astronomical observations that would help scientists understand Earth's precise shape. Today, a visitor to the Paris garden would be hard-pressed to miss the name Jussieu. It is emblazoned on countless plaques and signs, a testament to this family's legacy in French botany. Lest one think they attained their positions solely through nepotism: Bernard de Jussieu turned down his brother's post after Antoine's death, insisting that Michaux's mentor, Le Monnier, was the better choice for it. And it was through Le Monnier that Michaux's own path brought him into their orbit when, in 1779, he relocated to Paris to study at the Jardin du Roi.

“In many respects, Michaux's journey from country farmer to professional botanist studying at the Jardin du Roi exemplified the shifting nature of science in the age of the Enlightenment. A profound change in science was happening as Michaux moved through life. Beginning in the seventeenth century but picking up steam throughout the eighteenth, a rising generation of European thinkers were questioning old scientific assumptions, discarding antiquated traditions, and replacing them with new knowledge forged through novel research techniques. Michaux, of course, would become a part of this transformation. He and others working in various fields were aided in their pursuits by the advent of innovative tools like the microscope and the telescope, along with improved experimental apparatus, that allowed them to better decipher the mysteries of nature. Many in the eigh­teenth century were optimistic that, for the first time, a real understanding of the natural world was within humanity's grasp. It was a time of great excitement and dynamism.

“The sense of discovery permeated the age, and enthusiastic scientific leaders, driven by the desire to share and collaborate, often ignored national boundaries in an effort to advance what they saw as an international project. Other technologies helped individuals spread their findings far beyond their local communities. The printing press and the use of woodcuts and engravings, paired with more reliable means of distribution, allowed for the mass production of precise and uniform scientific images that could be widely circulated, thus vastly expanding access to scientific information throughout Europe.

“This energetic spirit of cooperation also led to the formation of new scientific organizations throughout Europe whose primary purpose was to disseminate important new knowledge and to connect scholars. Institutions such as the Royal Society in London (founded in 1660) and the Academy of Sciences in Paris (founded in 1666) became essential nodes in the organization and spread of research within their respective countries and beyond. By the middle of the eighteenth century, almost every European country had its own academy of learning, sometimes several. These institutions served two important purposes (and still do). By electing leading thinkers and providing them with an intellectual home, these ‘societies’ played an essential role in fostering their nation's scientific culture and setting its agenda while also collectively representing the caliber of their nation's scientific talent to the world. Their second purpose was to link each country's scientific community to similar communities in other countries by corresponding with learned societies scattered throughout the continent and the British Isles. Le Monnier, for instance, was elected to the French Academy in 1743, the Royal Society in London in 1745, and the Prussian Academy (founded in 1700) in 1746.

“By the time Michaux began his studies, these institutions had helped establish a coherent and connected scientific community within individual countries and throughout Europe. As these collectives grew larger and their influence stronger, their activities—whether through publication, support of research, or meetings—expanded access to knowledge and created opportunities for individuals like Michaux to pursue their own interests through more clearly established channels. These national academies also embodied one of the conundrums of the age, one that Michaux would regularly confront on an individual level: the exchange of knowledge they facilitated softened, but never erased, national distinctions. Despite extensive international cooperation, these institutions' emphasis on championing the work happening within their country encouraged a sense of national pride and prestige—and reinforced national boundaries as well.

“Still, science in Michaux's day remained very different from science today. A key difference is revealed in something as simple as the way Michaux and his peers described their work. People like Michaux and Le Monnier never thought of themselves as scientists, though we would call them that today. Instead, these eighteenth-century protoscientists described each other as natural historians. While the title may be foreign to us today, it nicely encapsulates the efforts of those who bore it. Natural historians aimed to document the natural world by recording all that was in it and explaining how it worked, just as historians were documenting the human past to explain when events happened and why things occurred. Natural historians were thus observers and collectors who generally focused their efforts on areas such as botany, geology, geography, climate, and what was called ‘animal history.' Often, natural historians studied all of these together—when they were in the field, they collected plant and animal specimens, recorded weather data, observed geological formations, and mapped geographic information. Natural history was an all-encompassing concept, one unlike the more professionalized and specialized scientific world of today in which science is separated into clearly defined and discrete disciplines.”

author:	Patrick Spero
title:	The Scientist Turned Spy: André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the Conspiracy of 1793 (Jeffersonian America)
publisher:	University of Virginia Press
pages:	13-16