Linnaeus’ apostles, scientific travel and the East India trade

Abstract

This paper discusses the significance of East India trade to scientific travel in the 18th century, focusing in particular on the so‐called ‘apostles’ or travelling students of Linnaeus. On the one hand, enterprises such as the Swedish East India Company (SOIC) were of crucial importance by providing both incentives for natural history research and the necessary infrastructure for scientific travel. It is indeed difficult to imagine most of the apostles’ expeditions without the framework of East India trade. On the other hand, there were also obvious limits to the willingness of the SOIC to actively sponsor research which was not immediately useful or profitable; such support was typically only given to travellers working on board as chaplains or surgeons, and only as long as it did not interfere with their regular duties. In this context, I briefly discuss the complicated relationship — in the 18th century no less than today — between two contrasting scientific ideals: one based on the notion of curiosity or the search for knowledge as an end in itself and the other fuelled by a belief that science is meaningless if it does not yield tangible benefits to human economy and society.

Silk and Tea in the North

“…Forty per cent of the capital needed to finance Drottningen af Swerige and Stockholm, which set out in 1745, came from the Low Countries, and most of this from the Southern Netherlands. 59 Studies of the tea trade indicate strong connections between traders in the Dutch Republic and the Austrian Netherlands up until the second half of the eighteenth century. 60 A list of shareholders from the third charter does, however, suggest a shift in ownership had taken place.…”

“…58 They invested in the profitable credit market, which offered loans with interest rates of up to twenty per cent to those engaged in intra-Asian trade, as well as to the Chinese merchants under pressure to expand their business in the wake of the growing tea trade. 59 In 1753 the SEIC established a capital fund in Canton which could be used to advance and lend money to Chinese merchants. 60 The Danish did likewise in 1760, but both companies from the 1740s onwards had to occasionally let their supercargoes stay behind in Macau so that they could close advanced contracts.…”

“…Each piece sold for between 6.1 and 6.15 silver dollars; in other words significantly cheaper than any other longer piece goods. 59 Lengths and prices varied though, the second largest batch in 1757, 873 plain peelings, were almost twice as long, 12.60 m. 60 The Danes also imported peelings, or what they call 'pillangs'. In 1755 they bought 250 pieces, 7.66 m long, 35 cm wide, and each piece costing 1.55 taels, again a significantly cheaper price than any other listed piece goods.…”

“…Osbeck had collected more than 900 different plant species on this trip. 59 In his correspondence with Ellis, Linnaeus refers to Osbeck and his SEIC contacts who attempted and frequently failed, to bring him tea seedlings. 60 Ellis likewise refers to his EIC network, which included 'Mr Fitzhugh', who had years of experiences working in Canton.…”

In Linnaeus’ Wake: 300 Years of Marine Discovery

“…Both men recognized the importance of collecting to their work, Darwin through his own expedition aboard the Beagle , and Linnaeus from his own travels and later those of his apostles, some of them as priests or doctors on board the Swedish East India Company's ships bound for China. The 18th century saw a revolution in European maritime activity, with state‐sponsored private companies pioneering trade in the East Indies and beyond (Nyberg 2008). Scientific activities were sometimes, although not routinely, encouraged, and Linnaues took advantage where he could.…”