Imperial studies have recently moved in new and exciting directions, embracing the history of the natural sciences, geography, medicine and conservation. This collection of essays illustrates the remarkable work currently being undertaken in these areas.Western science, medicine, geographical ideas and environmental assumptions were all vital to the creation of the imperial world system, so important in understanding the modern world order. The contributors to this volume illustrate strikingly new approaches to the study of conservation, botany, geology, economic geography, state scientific endeavour, and entomological and medical research in relation to the imperial rule of both Britain and France. In his introduction the editor argues that scientific, medical and environmental issues are central to a full understanding of imperialism, particularly in the nineteenth and twentieth centuries.The collection should appeal to scholars and students concerned with historical geography, the history of science, medicine, and environmental issues, as well as imperialism itself.
