Experiencing nature : the Spanish American empire and the early scientific revolution / Antonio Barrera-Osorio.

Austin, TX : University of Texas Press, 2006.

xi, 211 pages : illustrations, maps ; 24 cm

Includes bibliographical references (p. [189]-204) and index.

Searching the land for commodities -- A chamber of knowledge: the Casa de la Contratación and its empirical methods -- Communities of experts: artisans and innovation in the New World -- Circuits of information: reports from the New World -- Books of nature: scholars, natural history, and the New World -- Conclusions: the politics of knowledge -- Appendix 1. Pilots and cosmographers at the Casa de la Contratación -- Appendix 2. Instruments -- Appendix 3. Spanish scientific books.