Inventing the Indigenous: Local Knowledge and Natural History in Early Modern Europe »

Alix Cooper is Assistant Professor of History at Stony Brook University, where she teaches early modern European history and the histories of science, medicine, and the environment.

This book shows how early modern Europeans began to take inventory of their own 'indigenous' natural worlds.

Acknowledgments     ix
List of Illustrations     xiii
Introduction     1
Home and the World: Debating Indigenous Nature     21
"There are in Germany so many more and better medicines..."     22
"Garlic and Onions"     32
"Indigenous Medicine"     41
Field and Garden: The Making of the Local Flora     51
Field Trips     57
Texts     72
Places     80
From Rocks to Riches: The Quest for Natural Wealth     87
Mineral Kingdoms     89
Natural Treasures     94
Excavating Wurzburg     101
Dealing in the Local     109
The Nature of the Territory     116
"Procure us an Account"     121
Translating the New Science     131
"The Possibilities of the Land"     140
Problems of Local Knowledge     152
"The Indies in Switzerland"     156
Florists and Critics     166
Conclusion     173
Works Cited     187
Manuscript Sources     187
Printed Primary Sources     187
Secondary Sources     195
Index     213