Quina (Cinchona) and the Portuguese Empire: explorations, transfers and acclimatizations in a perspective of ecological imperialism in the 19th century.

Abstract

Based on a varied set of documents, we seek to show in this article the participation of the Portuguese Empire in the exploration, transfer and acclimatization projects of the medicinal tree called Quina (Cinchona). The exploration projects involved Portuguese America and the transfer and acclimatization projects were directed to the other colonies on other continents, especially Africa. Following the concept of ecological imperialism, we pointed at first to encourage the discovery of the tree in Brazil, which was part of the objective of making Portugal independent from the Spanish monopoly, at the end of the 18th century and the beginning of the 19th; on another front of investigation we approached the initial ways in which the Portuguese Empire sought to follow in the footsteps of other European nations with regard to the projects for transferring and acclimatizing Quina to other colonial possessions. Enterprises that aimed to facilitate integration and settlement in new territories, as Quina's bark is an important therapeutic resource to overcome the barriers imposed by endemic diseases in these tropical regions.