Gardens, edible gardens, orchards, and herbariums in the Jesuit spaces of Portuguese America (16th-18th centuries)

• Grant number: 21/02288-8
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Master
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): November 30, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Architecture and Town Planning - Fundamentals of Architecture and Urbanism
• Principal researcher: Renata Maria de Almeida Martins
• Grantee: Mônica Bertoldi André
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Arquitetura e Urbanismo (FAU). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

This research intends to map the presence of gardens, vegetable gardens, orchards and herbariums in places of Jesuit occupation in Portuguese America, between the 16th and 18th centuries, with a look at their architectural and landscape conformation, through the survey of textual and iconographic documentary sources to inform us about such spaces for cultivation and study of plants. It starts with the understanding of such environments as privileged places of transit, acclimatization and cultivation of plant species, both exotic - brought from Europe or other colonial territories in Asia and Africa -, as native to the Americas, in a context of growing globalization made possible by the Iberian overseas expansion process and, therefore, crucial for the processes of alteration and conformation of Brazilian landscapes. For this research, the historical background of the botanical gardens built in scientific institutions, the experiences of the Society of Jesus and other religious orders, as well as the practices and knowledge of the indigenous people in the handling of plants within their cultural universe will be considered. It is hoped that this survey will support future research in the area, allowing further studies on these Jesuit farming spaces and on their impacts on the formation of the urban landscapes and fabrics of which they were / are part.