Racial Science and Botanical Innovation in Imperialism

How did plants power imperialism?

Gardening may be a quintessentially British hobby, but many of the familiar plants in our lives have a global – and colonial – history. From “fern-mania” leading wealthy Victorians to decimate environments around the world collecting ferns for their drawing rooms, to mahogany harvested by enslaved workers in the Caribbean, plants played an important role in the British Empire. Even official scientific names for plants included blatantly racist language up until the 1990s. 

Over-harvesting of popular imperial products created monocultures and environmental destruction on a huge scale, and the movement of native plants across continents allowed invasive species to run riot. Yet the same imperialists who caused these problems also led the way in the early environmentalist movement, creating National Parks and protection schemes for animals on the risk of extinction. 

Listen as William and Anita are once again joined by Sathnam Sanghera, author of Empireworld, to explore the ways in which imperialists both destroyed and protected the natural world.

Twitter: @Empirepoduk

Email: empirepoduk@gmail.com

Goalhangerpodcasts.com

Assistant Producer: Becki Hills

Producer: Anouska Lewis

Senior Producer: Callum Hill

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