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Science, Society, and Knowledge of the Columbian Exchange: The Case of Cannabis

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Environmental History in the Making

Part of the book series: Environmental History ((ENVHIS,volume 6))

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Abstract

This chapter argues that botanical scientific knowledge of Cannabis has shaped its environmental historiography. This chapter engages the epistemological concerns of science and technology studies (STS) by examining how botanists have conceived biological speciation; it contributes to environmental history by showing that concepts of speciation—at least for domesticated taxa—bear narratives of human history that shape and constrain imperatives for historical research. Dominant concepts of Cannabis taxonomy have enabled biological hypotheses to substitute for historical evidence, thereby reducing imperatives to research the plant’s transatlantic dispersal history. Historiographical neglect has enabled a Eurocentric narrative of Cannabis that is not supported by the documentary record. The chapter proposes a historiography for Cannabis that is more attentive to past social, cultural, and environmental contexts.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Environmental Studies, University of New Mexico, Albuquerque, NM, 87131, USA

    Chris S. Duvall

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  1. Chris S. Duvall
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Correspondence to Chris S. Duvall .

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Editors and Affiliations

  1. Escola de Ciências, Universidade do Minho, Braga, Portugal

    Estelita Vaz

  2. IHC, Universidade Nova de Lisboa, Lisboa, Portugal

    Cristina Joanaz de Melo

  3. Universidade do Minho, NIMA, Esola de Economia e Gestao, Braga, Portugal

    Lígia M. Costa Pinto

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Duvall, C.S. (2017). Science, Society, and Knowledge of the Columbian Exchange: The Case of Cannabis . In: Vaz, E., Joanaz de Melo, C., Costa Pinto, L. (eds) Environmental History in the Making. Environmental History, vol 6. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-319-41085-2_13

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