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The Collection of
Natural History Specimens in Jamaica 17th – 19th Century
Published Date: March 02, 2007
Author: Ms. Elizabeth Morrison, Natural History
Division
PDF Version
The
collection of nature in any systematic way in an attempt to understand and
process it had its roots in the 16th to 18th century. At the time human
transformation and use of the natural environment had become divorced from a
strict medieval Christian framework. During “The Enlightenment”, also termed
the “Age of Reason or Modernity”, people believed that they could improve
themselves by improving nature and in search of progress turned to science,
technology and industry. The environment was seen as a collection of raw
materials to be used to further the progress of mankind. It was felt, and to
some extent this still holds, that nature was there to serve mankind and it
was mankind’s prerogative, indeed duty, to solve the mystery of nature by
unlocking its secrets and developing new insights into its inner workings.
Where the
natural environment was once surrounded by mystery and folk legend or imbued
with spiritual significance it was now viewed as a store of raw materials
for human economic purposes. As people’s view of the natural environment
changed, a new world of possibilities emerged. The natural world was now
open to be coded and classified through vigorous modes of enquiry through a
scientific project of dominating nature and finding out her secrets. In
order to do so, vast amounts of scientific specimens were collected,
preserved and studied leading to the systematic taxonomic classification
system we use today. The work of Charles Darwin and the publication of the “Origin
of Species” in 1859 further fuelled the movement to collect and classify
nature as scientists sought to test the Theory of Evolution. Jamaica with
its high level of biodiversity was a paradise for those engaging in the
collecting of nature.
Early naturalists who studied Jamaican flora and fauna included Sir Hans
Sloane, Dr. Anthony Robinson and Phillip Henry Gosse. Sir Hans Sloane
visited Jamaica from 1687 - 1689. He first described the flora and fauna of
Jamaica and employed an artist to illustrate specimens. His collection
expanded to such a degree that it nearly overwhelmed his house and he had to
employ a part – time curator to maintain it. The collections became quite
famous attracting numerous visitors. His descriptive text and illustrations
were used by other scientists including the famous Swede, Carolus Linnaeus.
On Sloane’s death in 1753, his collection of Jamaican specimens was
purchased for ₤20,000 and became the nucleus of the British Museum of
Natural History (BMNH).
Dr. Anthony Robinson, who practiced medicine
in Jamaica in the mid 1700s, accumulated a large mass of valuable
information on the flora and fauna of Jamaica in 5 folio Manuscript volumes.
These manuscripts were in the possession of the Institute of Jamaica (IOJ)
until about 1914 when they were loaned to the BMNH and never returned. Only
1 volume appears to have remained in Jamaica and is currently in the
possession of the National Library of Jamaica.
Phillip Gosse visited Jamaica in 1844 and
wrote extensively on the natural beauty of the island and its customs and
described several species of flora and fauna. He also collected extensively
during his stay in Jamaica. Gosse's description of a naturalist's workroom
brought into focus the vast amounts of environmental material that were
collected, processed and transported to Britain
"Large sacks containing Orchidaceae, newly
brought in, lie on the floor, and many specimens of the same curious tribe
of plants are heaped up under tables, with Cactoidea, awaiting the
time they may be shipped to England.”
The same chapter describes the preparation of
hundreds of bird skins for shipment and the procedure used to obtain land
snails.
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Specimens collected by Gosse |
Amount |
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Mammals
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41 |
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Birds
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1510
|
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Reptiles
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102 |
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Fishes
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94 |
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Nests and eggs
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34 |
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Shells (marine)
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1276
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Shells (terrestrial/freshwater)
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1850
|
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Crustacea
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100
|
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Insects/Arachnida
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7800
|
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Echinodermata
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57
|
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Sponges
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550
|
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Zoophytes
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42
|
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Dried Plants
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5000
|
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Orchidaceae
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800
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Bulbs/Suckers
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932
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Cacti
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32
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Ferns
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222
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Capsules/Seeds
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383
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Seeds of flowering plants
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170
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Palm seeds
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14
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Boxes of Gum
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24
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Woods
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50
blocks |
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Others
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117
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Table 1: Gosse’s Collections (Made during 18 months from December 5, 1845 to
July 4, 1846. (Sold for £ 577: 9:8) Gosse’s Jamaica 1844-45, Ed. D.B.
Stewart. Institute of Jamaica Publications Ltd. 1984
This is just one recorded instance of the
type and volume of Jamaican specimens that were collected by hobbyists for
their private collections in the 1800s. One can only speculate as to the
numbers of flora and fauna that were collected and not recorded, or those
collected and not properly preserved. As recently as the early 1990s, the
Natural History Division received a telephone request from a church in
England for a donation of approximately 10,000 Jamaican seashells needed to
replace the broken ones in the decorative façade of it’s church wall! The
request was denied.
Nowadays the voracious pace of collecting
natural history specimens has slowed as we are aware of the environmental
implications of unchecked removal of species from the wild. n order to
protect Jamaica’s valuable and limited natural resources from damage by over
harvesting, the Government of Jamaica now requires that local and foreign
researchers needing to collect natural history specimens have a permit.
Permits to collect specimens are approved by a Scientific Authority
comprised of a Government appointed advisory board of experts in a wide
range of biological fields. The Authority discusses the merits of all
applications for permits involving the collection of live specimens for
export, whether for trade or research. Approval is granted or denied based
on the determined status of the species in the wild and other conservation
issues. If the specimens are to be maintained alive, the authority reserves
the right to inspect the facilities of the applicant organization for its
suitability to host Jamaican specimens. If the species are listed under The
Trade in Endangered Species Act or the Wild Life Protection Act the permit
process is especially rigorous. It is also mandatory that researchers
collecting plant or animal specimen deposit duplicate specimens with the
Natural History Division, Institute of Jamaica.
(Telephone Interview Andrea Donaldson,
Coordinator, Biodiversity Branch, NEPA, February 2003)
European collectors were not daunted by the
rough inaccessible Jamaican terrain. They suffered through unpleasant and
uncomfortable weather and temperature extremes in order to collect endemic
or otherwise interesting flora and fauna. Gosse presented a vivid
description of terrain typical to Jamaica as he described difficult
territory he encountered in the Bluefields district of Savanna-la-Mar:
“ At
one corner of the pasture a steep rocky hill rises abruptly, covered with
pristine woods. The boughs of an immense fig-tree, which had prostrated in a
storm a few weeks before, enabled me to climb the ascent; but I was
astonished at the difficulty of penetrating the forest. The number of tough
withes, many of them fearfully spinous, that entwine about the trees and
about each other; the long prickly cacti, too, that trail here and there;
the lianes …. Some of the larger ones are woody and are often twisted
together like the strands of a cable. The bushes and smaller trees are
sometimes very numerous and close, quite choking the ground, and preventing
the view beyond a few yards in any direction. The oppressive heat, and
often, as here,[ Hill in Bluefields] the loose stony character of the
ground, renders it impossible to go far into these woods.
(Excerpt from Gosse’s Jamaica 1844-45,
Ed. D.B. Stewart. Institute of Jamaica Publications Ltd. 1984)
Due in large part to the explorations,
observations and collections of naturalists, museums of natural history
opened in many cities worldwide and grew rapidly. The British Museum of
Natural History was so overwhelmed with donations from amateur collectors
from different regions of the world that they issued the "Handbook of
instructions for collectors" in 1902 so that these collectors should
have a better knowledge of the manner in which specimens should be
preserved. These amateur collectors have been described as "travelers and
others whose vocations have necessitated their residence abroad in all parts
of the world." They included military and naval officers, explorers and
missionaries.
Jamaica’s own Museum of Natural History was
started by the Jamaica Society in 1830. The Jamaica Society was merged with
the Royal Society for Arts and the General Agricultural Society of Jamaica
to form the Royal Society of Arts and Agriculture in 1864. This Society was
disbanded in 1873 and its collections, stored on the wharf by officers of
the Geological Society under the care of the Island Chemist, were turned
over to the Institute of Jamaica on its foundation in 1879. (“The
Institute Of Jamaica” David Brown 2001. Unpublished article)
The avid amateur collectors of natural
history although overzealous at times in their quest for knowledge, should
be afforded our gratitude as their observations and collections have formed
the base of present day collections and scientific knowledge of our
biodiversity. The task of collecting, recording, displaying and preserving
natural history specimens is now that of the staff of Natural History
Division (NHD) of the Institute of Jamaica. The collections of the NHD
include a library with over 10,000 scientific publications, a herbarium of
over 130,000 plant specimens and a diverse zoological collection with over
80,000 specimens including insects, arachnids, crustacea, fish, birds,
reptiles, amphibians and mammals. Their collections along with recent
collections can be used to plot a timeline of Jamaican biodiversity with
some specimens collected from as early as 1770s still remaining intact.
Photographs of
specimens in the Natural History Collections of the Institute of Jamaica
from the 18th and 19th Century.
Fig 1. Pleuronte lucerna formerly Helix lucerna from
the collection of E. Durand circa 1860 .
Fig.
2 Original Collectors label reads “E. Durand à Paris (Echarges)”
Fig. 3 The oldest specimen housed in NHD collections, Prinos
dioicus = Ilex dioica collected by Ryan in 1778 from Montserrat.
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