The Global History Seminar Series LAUGH presents Angana Moitra, Centre for Privacy Studies and O.P Jindal Global University: “This most spacious and fertile Monarchy”: Edward Terry’s colonialist botanography.

My presentation will focus on the meticulous detailing of the victuals, foodstuffs, and indigenous flora and fauna of India that Edward Terry recorded in his compendious Voyage to East India. Terry was a chaplain in the embassy of Sir Thomas Roe, sent by the East India Company (EIC) to the court of the Mughal emperor Jahangir. While historiography has focused on how the British started appropriating indigenous medicinal knowledge which they repackaged as scientific discourse from the 19th century onwards, my presentation argues that the practice of turning a classificatory eye to the colonies with a view to understanding—and, by extension, ruling—them better started with the first voyages of the EIC in the 17th century itself. Terry’s practice of classifying and recording the vegetation of the country—what I call “colonialist botanography”—was one of the earliest attempts made by the British in this direction.

Interest in broadening the historical perspective beyond national borders has grown since the early 1990s. Several researchers have spoken of a “world historical turn” or a “transnational trend”. The shift in perspective can be encompassed by concepts such as global history, world history, transnational history, comparative history, histoire croisée and entangled history. With this seminar we want to highlight ongoing research in the field and discuss the relationship between theory and empiricism and how these perspectives affect our view of the past.

We welcome all interested parties, students and researchers alike.

The seminars are typically held both in person and on Zoom. Contact Cecilia Lundström for Zoom link.

Welcome to explore the world with us!