Historia naturalis Brasiliae (Piso and Marcgrave)
Historia naturalis Brasiliae (Piso y Marcgrave)
- Date
- 1637-1648 · confidence high
- Place
- Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil
- Credited to
- Willem Piso and Georg Marcgrave, under Johan Maurits of Nassau
- Field
- Life & health
What was discovered
The first illustrated scientific treatise on the natural history and tropical medicine of Brazil, with descriptions of ipecac and tropical diseases. It circulated in Europe and was a reference for over a century.
Published in 1648 in Leiden and Amsterdam; Marcgrave died in 1644 in Africa and Piso edited his work.
What it led to
- Introduction of ipecac into European medicine
- A basis for Brazilian zoology and botany used by Linnaeus and other naturalists
- A model for colonial medical-naturalist expeditions