Collectionism in nineteenth-century Bahia

the Cabinet of Natural History (1835-1889)

Abstract

During his journey through the Province of Bahia in 1835, the French traveler Jean-Baptiste Douville donated items relating to natural history to set up an official Cabinet, under the administration of the government of the city of Salvador. Based on an article published in the journal of the Geographical and Historical Institute of Bahia (1910), this paper investigates how the donation was received, following up on the actions taken for the creation of the Cabinet, continuities and discontinuities, as well as the intentions and impacts on the culture of Salvador. Despite the instability that characterized the “Douville Cabinet,” we conclude that it paved the way for the development of natural sciences in nineteenth-century Bahia by establishing the Provincial School that opened in 1837.