Science and politics during the reign of José I (1808-1813): the Royal Natural History Museum project

Abstract

This paper deals with the Royal Natural History Museum project drawn up by the government of Joseph Bonaparte. It begins by analysing the organization of science at a ministerial level, paying particular attention to the activity of the Interior Ministry. It then goes on to discuss the economic crisis suffered by scientific institutions at that time, analysing its causes and the additional problems introduced by the Peninsular war. The Natural History Museum project was conceived to deal with many of these issues. The Francophiles adopted an organizational model inspired by a similar French institution created during the French Revolution, although they managed to link the new institution with unfinished projects from the Spanish Enlightenment. Although the project studied herein was never passed into law, a similar centre was subsequently developed by the government of Ferdinand VII and formed the starting point of the research institution that has lasted until the present day. The final section of this paper discusses the main reasons that led the Francophile government to suggest the setting up of new scientific institutions, such as that discussed here, despite the critical conditions suffered during most of the reign. This paper reveals and analyses the rhetoric on the usefulness of science developed by the Francophiles in order to obtain legitimacy and to gain support for the new King.