Mineral’s collection in the Kingdom of Chile. The Cabinet of the Royal Academy of San Luis, 1790-1810

Abstract

At the beginning of the 19th century, the Royal Tribunal of Mining of Santiagoheld a set of minerals from the kingdom of Chile, aiming to send them to Madridto nourish the Cabinet of Natural History at the capital of the empire. This collection,gathered in response to a royal decree (real orden) issued by the Spanish monarchy in1788, never met its destiny. However, the set contributed to the organization of the firstpublic place to promote natural scientific knowledge in the country, viz the Cabinet ofNatural History of the Royal Academy of San Luis. This investigation aims to analyzethe first attempt to foster knowledge on nature based on collections of natural objectsmade in colonial Chile in the early 19th century. To this end, it examines governmentalreports and instructions on the movement of collections and accounting documentsrelated to the operation of the Royal Academy of San Luis, held by the National Archiveand National Library of Chile. Through the study of the processes that renderedthe foundation of this establishment possible and the analysis of practices designed toknow and classify the collections of minerals, the article shows that collecting nature for study was a project that mobilized knowledges and scientific practices that situatedthe kingdom of Chile in the global quest of European natural history. Contrary to whathas been claimed until now, this project did not emerge from the independentist andrevolutionary agenda, but in the colonial period.