Collecting and Disseminating Knowledge in the Early Modern Atlantic World

Learned Societies

Seal of the American Philosophical Society

Seal of the American Philosophical Society

            The American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia was the oldest learned society in the United States. It was the most prestigious and prolific learned society in the early republic. The American Academy of Arts and Sciences, the second oldest learned society in the country based in Boston had only published five volumes of work from its Memoirs of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences. This included a significant gap of twenty-four years between the fourth publication in 1809 to the fifth in 1833. The APS’s publication Transactions of the American Philosophical Society published ten volumes by 1834 and two additional volumes by the end of the decade. In fact, the main scientific competition that emerged for the APS came from a young organization founded in Philadelphia called the Academy of Natural Sciences which was founded in 1812. That institution gained prominence after securing patronage to build a natural history library and the funds to publish its own journal in 1817.[1] By 1830 the ANS had published six volumes demonstrating its scientific prowess.[2]

A major feature of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society listed books, natural curiosities, scientific apparatuses, and artifacts from antiquity. These gifts to the societies included the names of the donors, the dates received, and the name of the gift. This section emphasized the breadth of the network of members and their collaborators across the world. Starting in the 1818 issue the society separated general donations to the society from the “Donations for the Cabinet.”[3] The acquisition of specimens for the Society to utilize in its scientific inquiries was critical for the diffusing of new knowledge and to maintain the status as a leading scholarly institution. A critical means for acquiring new resources came from explorers as well as merchants and diplomats.[4] This strategy was built into the foundation and purpose of the society and typically the members of these groups served in critical diplomatic positions.

Report of Mr. Poinsett on the Condition of South America

This report of Poinsett's five year experiences in South America provide descriptions of resources which would be valuable for trade with the United States.

An increasing number of learned societies engaged in the practice of collecting knowledge by sponsoring expeditions, relying on members to send collections to their repositories and participating in exchanges with other learned societies. Increasingly these societies used their members relationships with the government to promote botanical bioprospecting. For example the APS relied on their members to help build their collections. Joel R. Poinsett was selected by James Madison to serve as a commercial agent to the revolutionary governments in South America. He spent a significant amount of his time in Chile and in Buenos Aires. His official role was very similar to that known as consul in official recognized countries. His commission was the agent for seamen and commerce. The stated goal of the mission was designed to communicate the mutual advantages of commerce and to promote a legal framework in which to promote those exchanges.[5]

Poinsett’s report submitted to Secretary of State John Quincy Adams outlined a history of abuses heaped upon colonial inhabitants by the Spanish church, inefficient and greedy bureaucracy and exploitation of the people in South America. He also outlined the riches in commodities and resources available, He emphasized the riches extracted from the mines and the significant agricultural products from the various regions in South America. Poinsett expertly collected demographic information, geographic descriptions and the value of the productions in the regions.[6]

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