Science diplomacy in the Republic of Letters: The naturalist Abbé Correia da Serra

This case study appears in: Mays C, Laborie L, Griset P (eds) (2022) Inventing a shared science diplomacy for Europe: Interdisciplinary case studies to think with history. 

Abbé Correia da Serra (1751‒1823) was a leading figure of the Portuguese Enlightenment, who spent most of his life outside Portugal due to political and religious persecutions. He was a naturalist recognized by European botanical luminaries for his innovative ideas and particularly for his mediating skills as a catalyst in the communication between different scientific communities.

Based on Correia da Serra’s life story and extensive correspondence we argue that his scientific accomplishments cannot be disentangled from his diplomatic activities, first as a member of the Portuguese Legation in London (1801), then as ambassador of Portugal to the United States of America (1816-1820). Their conjoint analysis enables us to detect three varieties of science diplomacy in the practice of Correia da Serra: informal, formal, and imagined.

By calling attention to the historical dimension of science diplomacy, a quite novel term associated with a recent professional practice, it is possible to detect in the past many instances in which science was used as a tool for diplomacy by a variety of actors. The longue-durée perspective helps us understand how science diplomacy is built and how it came of age.