Haiti
Latin binomials have become the universal standard for describing plants and animals in scientific terms. French and English common names were often also used in colonial settings. However, local names often reveal much information about plants and animals and their relationships with humans and the environment. In this case study, we explore how to recover lost names and knowledge and how to integrate this knowledge into library catalogues.
René Gabriel de Rabié, a French engineer, painted hundreds of images of plants, insects, fish, reptiles, crustaceans and birds between 1767 and 1784 in Saint-Domingue. De Rabié drew on local knowledge, writing Créole names on some images. Working with existing studies, and engaging with contemporary biologists, the project will identify the plants and animals and chart historic and contemporary distribution. Working with Haitian scholars, the team will also work to restore local names and histories, sharing this information with Haitian scientists and communities and integrating it in McGill Archival cataloguing metadata.
Digital versions of all four volumes of de Rabié’s drawings are available from the Internet Archive.
The original volumes are available to request in Montreal via the McGill Library catalogue.
Hidden Hands in Colonial Natural Histories 