“A guidebook that anyone can use”: Indigenous knowledge about medicinal plants in Brazil’s 18th century, and Domingos Alves Branco Muniz Barreto’s natural philosophical observations

ABSTRACT

The purpose of this work is to understand the construction processes of the natural-philosophical knowledge about Brazil in the second half of the 18th century, from the case study of Domingos Alves Branco Muniz Barreto and his contact with indigenous populations from Bahia state. We followed up on recent theories to understand how knowledge is built in borderland areas as the result of streams of circulation, syncretism, and reconfiguration. The relations of power, exchanges and negotiations between European agents and native communities are essential to understand how these processes occurred, as well as the role of the locality and of the circulation of knowledge in a time marked by profound political and epistemological changes that affected not only Europe but also the colonies.

Keywords:
History of knowledge; native populations; medicinal plants; circulation of knowledge