Memorias histórico, físicas, crítico, apologéticas de la América meridional (review)

Since the 1904 publication of his encyclopedic tome on the mineral resources of South America, José Eusebio Llano Zapata (1721-1780) has been recognized as an influential figure in the late-colonial scientific world. But until this complete edition of his Memorias histórico, físicas, crítico, apologéticas de la América Meridional, only the first volume of his three-part study was available in published form. Two additional volumes on botany and zoology remained unknown. With the present edited compendium of Llano Zapata's entire Memorias, Charles Walker and his Peruvian co-editors have done much to remind today's students of eighteenth-century Spanish American science and natural history of the centrality of Llano Zapata's role therein.

Although he was of questionable background and never attended university, Llano Zapata nevertheless managed to learn at least seven languages, publish scores of books, and make friends in high places throughout Limeño society. However, he did not fare so well during his search for financial and intellectual backing in Spain (1756-1780). There, an unfortunate clash over methodology with Jorge Juan was followed by disinterest from both the Council of the Indies and the King. Llano Zapata was ultimately unable to garner sufficient support to publish the Memorias in his own lifetime. It is only thanks to his one proponent on the peninsula, José de Gálvez, that a copy of the three volumes of the work was stored in the Library of the Royal Palace. Until Walker and his team "re-discovered" them, the second and third books remained unknown to the Peruvian historians who sought them.

Like many eighteenth-century natural histories, Llano Zapata's study is so exhaustive that it can be overwhelming even to readers familiar with the genre. For this reason, Walker's Prologue is especially helpful in contextualizing the work's importance. Walker argues that the Memorias are representative of a number of contemporary methodological trends that illuminate the nature of scientific culture in the Spanish American Enlightenment. For instance, the work was most firmly grounded in older scholarship and methodologies. Llano Zapata referenced chroniclers like Antonio León Pinelo and José de Acosta, and he also referred to European scholars of past generations, such as Nicholas Monardes, Athanasius Kircher, and Ulysses Aldrovandi. Like the majority of Hispanic naturalists he chose to eschew the Linnaean system of botanical classification then fashionable in much of contemporary Europe. At times, Llano Zapata also showed a proclivity towards the fantastic that seemed more appropriate to the baroque era than to the late-eighteenth century.

Although much of Llano Zapata's mental universe might seem at odds with the rational scientific methodology of the Enlightenment, his emphasis on direct observation was quite modern. The Memorias tells of how during his travels throughout Spanish America he observed local uses of plants and herbs, especially among native communities. He also used observational methodology to disprove existing knowledge. For instance, when traveling in Mendoza in 1752, he received a hummingbird nest containing a dead female and her eggs. Upon cracking open the tiny eggs he found miniscule yolks, which proved to him that hummingbirds were indeed birds and not flying insects, as many believed. Finally, Llano Zapata also engaged with the controversial eighteenth-century debate over the inferiority of American specimens. Although he did not directly confront European detractors like Buffon and Robertson, he made clear that an important goal of his work was to correct the errors and falsehoods that they had spread. He also pointed out that some American specimens, such as the delectable cherimoya fruit, were superior to any similar items known in Europe.

The volume's introductory essays contextualize the Memorias and aptly demonstrate its broader importance to...