In search of the missing link

The Theory of the Great Chain of Being in Brazil in the nineteenth century

Abstract

The scientific society will spread all over Brazil in the 19th century. In this context, we intend to analyze which historical facts and natural phenomena were accepted as plausible of investigation. Thus, we chose some articles and research notes disclosed in the second half of the nineteenth century by the Revista do Instituto Geográfico e Histórico da Bahia that report, among other curious facts, the discovery of men with tail in the orient and giant carnivorous plants in Central America. What we intend to discuss is not only how true those reports could be, but also the theories and concepts that endorsed them at that time.