Legacies of boldness: Caldas, Humboldt and knowledge about cinchonas, 1801-1821

Abstract

This article examines the circulation of knowledge about Cinchona plants. Francisco José de Caldas and Alexander von Humboldt were interested in their taxonomy, distribution, trade, exploitation, production and conservation. The former’s observations were better, but his contributions were silenced by Humboldt and other actors such as José Celestino Mutis. Caldas changed from a passive position of accepted subordination to one of selfadvocacy, but his arguments were not widely publicized, in part because his results did not favor commercial interests and he lacked connections. Caldas used similar techniques to Humboldt to appropriate and systematize knowledge about cinchonas, silencing various sources.