Linnaeus and the Four Corners of the World

Abstract

Many accounts of the history of the race concept place the naturalist Carl Linnaeus (1707–78), and his Systema Naturae (1735), at the beginning of modern concepts of race, in contrast to older notions that did not yet reduce race to physical traits, but presented it as the outcome of an inextricable entanglement of blood, soil, and customs.1 In the slim, 11-page folio Systema Naturae (1735) that laid the foundations for the 22-year-old Swedish medical student’s future claim to fame, “man (Homo)” was presented as part of the animal kingdom in a two-page tabular arrangement of classes, orders, and genera (Figure 9.1). Placing humans among the class of four-footed animals (Quadrupedia)—animals possessing a hairy body (corpus hirsutum), four feet (pedes quatuor), as well as viviparous and breastfeeding females (feminae viviparae, lactiferae)— and, within that class, among the order of the “human-shaped” (Anthropomorpha)—alongside the apes (Simia), and the sloth (Bradypus)— Linnaeus cleverly defined the genus Homo not by some presumably universal morphological or physiological feature, but by the human capacity for self-knowledge. What is interesting about this definition is that it addresses the reader by citing the famous dictum “Know thyself” (Nosce te ipsum), and then proceeds to split up the genus Homo into four distinct groups: the white European, the red American, the tawny Asian, and the black African.2

Full text

Linnaeus(and(the(Four(Corners(of(the(World(
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Staffan!Müller!Wille!
University!of!Exeter!
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Last(version(of(manuscript(submitted(before(proof(reading.(
Published!as!Staffan!Müller-Wille,!2015,!“Linnaeus!and!the!Four!Corners!of!the!
World”,!in!The$Cultural$Politics$of$Blood,$1500–1900,!edited!by!Kimberly!Anne!
Coles,!Ralph!Bauer,!Zita!Nunes!and!Carla!L.!Peterson!(Basingstoke:!Palgrave!
MacMillan),!pp.!191–209.

Many!accounts!of!the!history!of!the!race!concept!place!the!naturalist!Carl!
Linnaeus!(1707–1778),!and!his!Systema$Naturae!(1735),!at!the!beginning!of!
modern!concepts!of!race,!in!contrast!to!older!notions!of!race!that!did!not!yet!
reduce!to!physical!traits,!but!presented!it!as!the!outcome!of!an!inextricable!
entanglement!of!blood,!soil,!and!customs.1!In!the!slim,!eleven-page!folio!Systema$
naturae!(1735)!that!laid!the!foundations!for!the!twenty-two!year!old!Swedish!
medical!student’s!future!claim!to!fame,!“man!(Homo)”!was!presented!as!part!of!
the!animal!kingdom!in!a!two-page!tabular!arrangement!of!classes,!orders,!and!
genera!(fig.!1).!Placing!humans!among!the!class!of!four-footed!animals!
(Quadrupedia)–!animals!possessing!a!hairy!body!(corpus$hirsutum),!four!feet!
(pedes$quatuor),!as!well!as!viviparous!and!breastfeeding!females!(feminae$
vivparae,$lactiferae)!–!and,!within!that!class,!among!the!order!of!the!“human-
shaped”!(Anthropomorpha)!–!alongside!the!apes!(Simia),!and!the!sloth!
(Bradypus)!–!Linnaeus!cleverly!defined!the!genus!Homo!not!by!some!presumably!
universal!morphological!or!physiological!feature,!but!by!his!capacity!for!self-
knowledge.!What!is!interesting!about!this!definition!is!that!it!addresses!the!
reader!by!citing!the!famous!dictum!“Know!thyself”!(Nosce$te$ipsum),!and!then!
proceeds!to!split!up!the!genus!Homo!into!four!distinct!groups:!the!white!
European,!the!red!American,!the!tawny!Asian,!and!the!black!African.2!In!a!single!
stroke,!Linnaeus!thus!produced!a!universal!scheme!of!naturalized!human!
difference!while!at!the!same!time!highlighting!that!such!a!classification!is!the!
supreme!product!of!human!self-reflection.!“Know!thyself”,!Linnaeus!suggests!by!
typographic!alignment,!translates!into!“Distinguish!thyself”,!and!“race”!–!if!that!is!
what!he!was!talking!about!here,!a!question,!as!we!will!see,!that!is!not!so!easy!to!
decide!–!hence!turns!out!to!have!been!conceived!from!its!very!beginning!as!a!

Janus-faced!concept,!facing!nature!on!the!one!hand,!and!facing!culture!as!
reflection!on!nature!on!the!other.!
Despite!its!significance!for!the!history!of!anthropology,!there!only!exists!
one!detailed!and!systematic!study!of!Linnaeus’s!original!writings!on!human!
races,!published!in!Swedish!in!1975!by!Gunnar!Broberg!as!part!of!a!book!on!
Linnaeus’s!general!philosophy!of!nature!and!anthropological!outlook.3!As!far!as!I!
know,!Broberg’s!exhaustive!and!careful!analysis!of!the!original!sources!
(including!manuscripts)!has!had!no!reception!in!the!anglophone!literature!on!the!
history!of!the!race!concept,!which!therefore!continues!to!be!riddled!by!the!wide-
spread!misconception!that!Linnaeus!was!a!staunch!essentialist,!and!presented!
human!races!as!distinct!types.!In!fact,!as!we!will!see,!Linnaeus!shared!
contemporary!views!that!skin-color!–!the!chief!criterion!of!distinction!employed!
in!the!Systema$naturae!–!was!largely!a!product!of!climate,!and!hence!as!variable!
as!other!“accidental”!bodily!characteristics!of!humans,!such!as!stature!or!weight.!!
The!significance!that!Linnaeus’s!classification!of!four!human!“varieties”!
(as!he!himself!called!them)!would!gain!can!therefore!not!be!reduced!to!the!fact!
that!it!pre-empted!the!racial!typologies!of!the!nineteenth!century.!Something!else!
must!have!attracted!Linnaeus!himself,!and!eventually!his!readers—among!them!
enlightenment!luminaries!such!as!Georges!Buffon!and!Immanuel!Kant—to!the!
seductively!simple!scheme!of!four!races!distinguished!by!skin!color.!In!this!
chapter,!I!am!going!to!try!to!reveal,!by!a!close!re-reading!of!relevant!sources,!that!
it!was!not!the!dubious!value!of!race!as!a!representation!of!actual,!clear-cut!
difference!that!made!it!attractive!to!eighteenth-century!naturalists.!In!fact,!as!I!
already!indicated!and!will!show!in!detail!in!the!first!section!of!this!chapter,!

Linnaeus!did!not!believe!that!such!differences!existed.!And!yet—as!I!will!argue!in!
the!second!section!by!turning!to!some!of!the!possible!sources!on!which!Linnaeus!
relied—there!was!something!unique!and!unprecedented!about!the!way!in!which!
Linnaeus!presented!human!diversity!in!1735,!namely!the!very!abstract!way!in!
which!it!correlated!physical!characteristics!with!global!distribution!over!the!four!
continents.!Section!three!will!place!this!within!the!context!of!Linnaeus!general!
fascination!with!the!four!continents,!and!will!argue!that,!rather!than!serving!as!a!
representation!of!human!diversity,!the!distinction!of!four!different!varieties!of!
humans!served!Linnaeus!as!a!tool!to!orient!himself!on!a!global!scale,!and!to!guide!
him!in!the!further!collection!of!factoids!about!humans,!resulting!in!a!highly!
idiosyncratic!association!of!the!four!races!with!medical!temperaments,!political!
inclinations,!and!psychological!and!cultural!dispositions.!This!explains,!as!I!will!
demonstrate!in!the!final!section!of!this!chapter,!why!race!played!a!very!minor!
role!only!in!Linnaeus’s!physiological!and!medical!speculations!about!the!human!
body.!While!an!element!of!struggle!comes!to!the!fore!in!these!speculations!by!
portraying!the!body!as!being!composed!of!two!fundamental,!antagonistic!
substances,!this!struggle!is!one!between!the!sexes.!Even!in!his!proposals!to!
interpret!the!diversity!of!life!as!the!outcome!of!repeated!hybridizations,!
Linnaeus!did!not!build!on!the!apparently!obvious!example!of!interracial!mixing!
among!humans,!in!stark!contrast!to!Buffon.!
For!the!general!theme!of!this!volume,(this!means!that!“race”!in!the!
eighteenth!century!was!not!straightforwardly!connected!with!conceptions!of!
bodily!constitution.!Race!as!a!category!was!still!in!the!making,!and!meshed!with!a!
variety!of!medical!and!philosophical!ideas!which!upon!closer!inspection!turn!the!

category!into!a!much!more!fluid!one!than!a!more!superficial!reading!would!
suggest.(While!Linnaeus!believed!that!classification!provided!the!royal!road!
towards!truth,!he!did!not!necessarily!believe!that!classifications!should!always!
and!everywhere!result!in!the!distinction!of!stable!types,!nor!that!they!should!and!
would!always!refer!to!some!underlying!essence.!Heredity,!environment,!and!
culture!remained!inextricably!entangled!in!Linnaeus’s!conception!of!human!
variation.!And!yet,!the!net!result!of!Linnaeus’s!deployment!of!the!category!was!a!
set!of!geopolitical!stereotypes!on!which!later!anthropological!writers!relied!as!a!
matter!of!course.!
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1.(Sub-species,(races,(or(varieties?(
Linnaeus,!as!far!as!I!am!aware,!never!used!the!term!race!(Swedish!ras),!neither!
with!reference!to!humans,!nor!with!reference!to!other!organisms.!In!Latin,!he!
used!the!word!varietas!(variety)!to!designate!different!groups!within!one!and!the!
same!species,!in!Swedish!the!words!slag,!a!term!introduced!from!the!language!of!
gardeners!and!breeders.4!The!reason!for!this!is!simple.!The!word!had!not!
reached!the!Swedish!language!yet;!according!to!the!Swedish!Academy’s!
dictionary,!it!appears!first!in!print!in!1765,!in!a!translation!of!Henry!Fielding’s!
The$History$of$Tom$Jones,$a$Foundling!(originally!published!in!1749).!Whether!
Linnaeus,!who!at!this!point!had!passed!the!height!of!his!career,!would!have!
accepted!the!term!as!an!adequate!neologism!into!his!own!taxonomic!language!is!
a!matter!of!speculation.!

The!question!whether!Linnaeus!would!have!referred!to!the!four!groups!of!
humans!he!distinguished!in!Systema$naturae!as!“races”!is!nevertheless!relevant.!
It!has!become!quite!common!to!read!Linnaeus’s!classification!as!if!it!
distinguished!subspecies,!and!hence!stable!types.5!This!is!reflected!in!more!
specialist!literature!by!rendering!the!names!of!the!four!groups!that!Linnaeus!
distinguished!–!in!line!with!a!taxonomic!custom!that!was!established!in!the!
nineteenth!century!–!as!trinomials:!Homo$sapiens$europaeus,$Homo$sapiens$
americanus!etc.!A!particularly!prominent!example!is!Phillip!R.!Sloan’s!essay!“The!
gaze!of!natural!history,”!which!contrasts!Linnaeus’s!anthropology!with!that!of!his!
contemporary!Georges!Buffon,!who!favored!a!view!of!human!races!as!relatively!
fluid!spatio-temporal!entities!and!rejected!abstract!universals!as!the!ones!
seemingly!proposed!by!Linnaeus’s!classification!of!humans.6!On!the!other!hand,!
however,!it!is!a!well-known!fact!–!which!Sloan!also!acknowledges!–!that!
Linnaeus!believed!that!all!variation!within!a!species!was!caused!by!local,!
environmental!factors.7!The!Systema$Naturae!of!1735,!and!its!subsequent!
editions,!do!not!provide!any!clue!to!resolve!the!question!whether!Linnaeus!
thought!of!races!as!stable!(sub-)!species!or!as!environmental!varieties.!In!these!
works,!he!never!addressed!this!question!explicitly.!The!way!in!which!he!
presented!the!fourfold!classification!of!humans!in!the!Systema$naturae$of!1735!
might!suggest!a!status!of!different!species,!but!then!no!other!animal!genus!is!
resolved!into!its!constituent!species.!
To!clarify!the!taxonomic!rank!of!the!four!human!races!within!Linnaeus’s!
taxonomy!of!the!animal!kingdom,!one!has!to!turn!to!an!unlikely!source.!In!
Linnaeus!botanical!work,!the!distinction!of!varieties!from!species!played!an!

important!role,!since!it!was!Linnaeus’!great!ambition!to!reduce!the!number!of!
species!–!and!species!names!–!within!botany.8!To!achieve!this,!Linnaeus!made!a!
strong!distinction!between!traits!whose!formation!is!determined!by!intrinsic!
“laws!of!generation”!and!which!therefore!remain!“constant”!across!all!members!
of!a!species,!and!traits!that!vary!within!a!species!due!to!“accidental”!factors!such!
as!soil!or!climate.9!In!Critica$botanica,!a!work!detailing!the!rules!and!conventions!
according!to!which!plant!names!should!be!formed,!Linnaeus!discussed!the!
distinction!at!great!length,!and!this!is!the!only!occasion!on!which!he!entered!a!
lengthy!discussion!on!the!significance!of!physical!differences!among!humans.!
This!discussion!relates!to!a!difficulty!that!the!distinction!of!species!and!
varieties!encountered,!namely!the!fact!that!certain!varieties!continue!to!transmit!
their!distinctive!character,!even!if!external!conditions!change.!The!example!
Linnaeus!adduced!in!this!context!–!alongside!the!“variety!of!seeds!that!gardeners!
sell”!–!was!human!skin!color.!“Who!would!deny!that!the!Ethiopian!is!of!the!same!
species!as!our!people!(ac$nos$homines),”!Linnaeus!asks!rhethorically,!only!to!add:!
“And!yet!the!Ethiopian!produces!black!children!on!our!soil!(nigros$infantes$in$
nostra$terra).”10!A!very!clear!distance!makes!itself!felt!here!in!the!use!of!the!first!
person!plural!(“our!people”!could!also!be!rendered!as!“us!humans”);!but!the!
insistence!that!this!distance!does!not!indicate!a!species!difference!is!equally!
clear,!and!repeated!with!great!force!in!another!passage!from!Critica$botanica$that!
is!worth!quoting!at!length:!!
Certainly,!if!each!trait!would!equally!constitute!a!new!species,!there!would!
be!no!wiser!and!accurate!Botanists!among!mortals!than!those!FLOWER-
LOVERS,!who!each!year!point!out!to!the!curious!some!thousand!new!

[traits]!in!tulips,!primroses,!anemones,!daffodils!and!hyacinths,!as!yet!
unknown!to!the!Botanists,!and!hence![claimed!to!be]!new!species.!But!the!
Omnipotent!Builder!abstained!from!the!work!of!creation!on!the!seventh!
day,!so!that!there!are!no!new!creations!with!each!day,!but!a!continued!
multiplication!of!things!already!created.!He!created!one!human,!as!the!
Holy!Scripture!teaches;!but!if!the!slightest!trait![difference]!was!sufficient,!
there!would!easily!stick!out!thousands!of!different!species!of!man:!they!
display,!namely,!white,!red,!black!and!grey!hair;!white,!rosy,!tawny!and!
black!faces;!straight,!stubby,!crooked,!flattened,!and!aquiline!noses;!
among!them!we!find!giants!and!pygmies,!fat!and!skinny!people,!erect,!
humpy,!brittle,!and!lame!people!etc.!etc.!But!who!with!a!sane!mind!would!
be!so!frivolous!as!to!call!these!distinct!species?!You!see,!therefore!we!
assume!certain!characters,!and!query!deceptive!ones,!which!lead!astray!
and!do!not!change!the!thing.11!
The!inclusion!of!skin!color!with!other!highly!variable!physical!
characteristics,!including!deformations,!leaves!little!doubt!that!Linnaeus!did!not!
believe!that!this!trait!pointed!to!any!essential!difference,!and!that!he!also!did!not!
believe!that!it!allowed!for!the!formation!of!discrete!categories.!It!may!well!be!
that!aligning!skin!color!with!other!highly!variable!traits!in!humans!was!
motivated!by!Linnaeus’!belief!in!Scripture,!as!Broberg!has!surmised.12!But!he!
was!surely!also!acknowledging!the!simple,!empirical!fact!that!skin!color!is!indeed!
highly!variable.!Linnaeus!actually!acknowledged!this!fact!in!the!1735!edition!of!
Systema$Naturae!by!the!choice!of!color!terms;!none!of!these!terms!states!a!clear-
cut!color,!but!rather!a!hue!or!coloring:!Europeans!are!said!to!be!“whitish!

(albesc[ens])”,!not!white;!Americans!“reddish!(rubesc[ens])”,!not!red;!Asians!
“tawny”,!not!yellow;!and!Africans!“blackish!(nigr[iculus])”,!not!black.!!
If!anything,!this!lets!Linnaeus’s!scheme!of!four!human!varieties!appear!even!
stranger!than!to!begin!with.!Apparently,!it!was!not!meant!to!present!the!reader!
with!some!kind!of!image,!or!representation,!of!what!the!(human)!world!is!
actually!like.!It!must!have!had!some!additional!function.!In!order!to!approach!
this!function,!it!is!worthwhile!to!contrast!Linnaeus’s!classificatory!schemes!with!
some!of!its!potential!sources,!in!order!to!see!more!clearly!what!it!is,!exactly,!that!
marks!it!as!the!beginning!of!something!new.!
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2.(Linnaeus’s(Sources(
Linnaeus!was!never!explicit!about!the!sources!for!his!anthropological!
knowledge.!Neither!the!first,!nor!the!tenth,!nor!the!twelfth!edition!of!Systema$
Naturae!–!the!latter!two!substantially!revised!and!augmented!versions!of!the!
former!–!cite!any!authorities!on!the!classification!of!mankind.!It!rather!seems!
that!Linnaeus!remained!exceptionally!uninformed!about!matters!of!race!
throughout!his!long!career.!In!the!treatise!Sponsalia$plantarum!(1746),!which!
dealt!with!organic!reproduction!in!general,!and!plant!sexuality!in!particular,!all!
that!can!be!found!on!this!matter,!for!example,!is!a!citation!of!an!account!by!the!
seventeenth-century!Danish!physician!Thomas!Bartholin!(1616–1680)!about!an!
“Ethiopian”!slave!and!a!Danish!maidservant!in!Copenhagen!who!had!a!male!child!
“whose!whole!body!was!due!to!the!mother,!except!the!penis!which!by!its!black!
color!showed!his!paternal!kind!(paternum$genus).”13!This!was!only!three!years!

before!George-Louis!Leclerc,!Comte!du!Buffon!(1707–1788),!produced!his!more!
than!one-hundred-fifty!page!chapter!on!“varieties!within!the!human!species!
(variétés$dans$l’espèce$humaine)”!which!was!based!on!an!extensive!review!of!
existing!travel!literature.14!Even!later!Linnaeus!would!prefer!to!ask!his!French!
correspondents—Bernard!de!Jussieu!(1699–1777)!in!particular,!who!was!
serving!under!Buffon!as!demonstrateur$des$plantes—what!Buffon!was!up!to,!
rather!than!reading!the!French!original.15!
It!is!nevertheless!possible!to!speculate!about!some!of!the!sources!that!
may!have!been!available!to!Linnaeus,!if!only!to!contrast!them!with!his!own!
curious!division!of!mankind!of!1735.!There!is!first!of!all!the!chapter!on!the!
“Inhabitants!of!Brazil”!from!Georg!Marcgrave’s!Historia$Naturalis$Brasiliae!
(1648).!The!book!was!in!the!possession!of!the!Uppsala!professor!of!theology!and!
oriental!languages!Olof!Celsius!(1670–1756)!with!whom!Linnaeus!lodged!as!a!
student,!and!whose!extensive!botanical!library!he!studied!assiduously.16!
Marcgrave’s!account!on!the!inhabitants!of!Brazil!is!remarkable!in!several!
respects;!first,!it!notes!with!a!modicum!of!surprise!that!the!Portuguese,!Dutch,!
German,!French,!English!are!collectively!referred!to!as!“Europeans”!in!Brazil;17!
second,!it!proposes!that!the!“mixture!of!various!nations!(nationum)”!happening!
in!Brazil!had!led!to!the!emergence!of!“five!distinct!kinds!of!people”.!What!follows!
is!one!of!the!earliest!accounts!of!a!classification!system!known!as!las$castas,!
which!tried!to!get!a!grip!on!mestizaje$through!an!elaborate!terminology!
designating!its!various!products:!“Who!is!born!from!a!European!father”,!wrote!
Marcgrave,!“and!a!Brazilian!mother!is!named!Mameluco”;!“[who!is]!born!from!a!
European!father!and!an!Ethiopian!mother!is!called!Mulatto.”18!Again,!skin!color!

plays!a!role!in!this!system—Marcgrave!mentions,!for!example,!the!birth!of!twins!
from!an!“Ethiopian!woman!(Aethiopissa)”,!one!of!which!was!“white”,!the!other!
“black”!(unum$album,$alterum$nigrum).!But!it!is!not!highlighted!as!a!universal!
criterion!of!distinction;!quite!on!the!contrary,!as!the!example!of!the!twin!shows,!
Marcgrave’s!description!places!emphasis!on!the!singular!and!local!character!of!
race!mixture.!In!contrast,!Linnaeus!classification!clearly!was!meant!to!be!global!
and!exhaustive,!effectively!correlating!his!four!human!varieties!with!the!four!
continents!then!known.!
A!second!likely!source!that!Linnaeus!may!have!drawn!upon!is!an!obscure!
pamphlet!produced!by!the!composer!and!mathematician!Harald!Johannson!
Vallerius!(1646–1716)!in!1705!in!the!form!of!an!academic!dissertation!at!
Uppsala!University,!the!university!that!Linnaeus!studied!medicine!at!from!1727–
1731.!Under!the!title!“About!the!various!external!appearance!of!men”,!it!
reproduced!the!argument!of!François!Bernier’s!(1625–1688)!well-known!essay!
“New!division!of!the!earth!according!to!the!different!species!or!races!that!inhabit!
it”,!adapting!it!to!the!purposes!of!the!home-grown!ideology!of!Göticism!
(Gothicism).19!Like!Bernier,!Vallerius!began!with!an!overview!of!the!various!
kinds!of!people!that!inhabit!our!planet,!only!to!embark!on!a!long-drawn!
argument!aiming!to!show!that!the!most!beautiful!women!are!götiskt,!i.e.!Swedish.!
The!chart!he!presents!of!human!variation!is!rather!odd:!According!to!Vallerius,!
there!are!“Ethiopians”!who!are!“black”!(nigri);!lapps!and!samojeds!who!are!
“tawny”!(fusci);!Italians,!Spaniards,!and!French!whom!Vallerius!curiously!
describes!as!“ashgrey”!(cinericio$colore)”;!and,!finally,!“White!Ethiopians”!
(Leucoaethiopes),!who!again,!as!the!name!indicates,!include!some!inhabitants!of!

Africa,!but!mainly!those!of!Germany!and!its!“neighboring!countries”.20!Like!
Linnaeus!thirty!years!later!on,!Vallerius!used!skin!color!as!a!chief!criterion,!and!
there!are!similarities!down!to!the!color!terms!used.!There!is!a!striking!difference!
also,!however.!Unlike!Vallerius—and!Bernier,!who!mentions!the!“Lapps”!
(Lappons)!as!a!separate!“species”!of!humans21—Linnaeus’s!classification!does!
not!make!reference!to!smaller,!marginal!populations.!His!classification!seems!to!
be!the!product!of!an!urge!to!establish!a!four-fold,!symmetric!division!of!
humankind.!The!four!varieties!are!presented!as!inhabiting!the!globe!in!equal!
parts,!thus!excluding!polarities!like!metropolitan!vs.!peripheral,!natural!vs.!
monstrous,!domestic!vs.!exotic,!or,!for!that!matter,!beautiful!vs.!ugly.!
There!is!a!third!likely!source!of!Linnaeus’s!classification!of!mankind.!In!
the!notebooks!he!kept!as!student,!there!is!a!drawing!of!a!bat!that!closely!
resembles!a!plate!from!Richard!Bradley’s!(1688–1732)!A$Philosophical$Account$
of$the$Works$of$Nature!(1721),!of!which!Linnaeus!possessed!a!copy.22!Bradley’s!
book!was!a!remarkably!materialistic!presentation!of!the!“scale!of!life”,!arguing,!
for!example,!that!the!difference!in!“capacity!and!understanding”!between!apes!
and!humans!“proceeds!from!the!various!Frames!of!those!Parts!which!furnish!the!
Brain!with!nourishing!Juices.”23!According!to!Bradley,!!
we!find!five!Sorts!of!Men:!the!White!Men!which!are!Europeans,!that!have!
Beards;!and!a!sort!of!White$Men!in!America$(as!I!am!told)!that!only!differ!
from!us!in!having!no!Beards.!The!third!sort!are!the!Molatoes,!which!have!
their!Skins!almost!of!a!Copper$Colour,!small$Eyes,!and!strait$black$Hair.!The!
fourth!Kind!are!the!Blacks,!which!have!strait$black$Hair:!And!the!fifth!are!
the!Blacks$of$Guiney!whose!Hair!is!curl’d,!like!the!Wool!of!a!Sheep.24!

Although!Bradely!distinguishes!five,!rather!than!four,!“sorts!of!Men”,!and!
although!he!includes!hair!color!and!form,!as!well!as!eye!shape,!as!additional!
criteria,!the!similarities!with!Linnaeus’s!scheme!are!striking;!both!classifications!
make!reference!to!physical!characteristics,!and!both!propose!a!global!and!
symmetric!division!of!mankind.!It!is!all!the!more!remarkable!that!Bradley!as!well!
does!not!cite!any!sources,!and!also!refuses!to!draw!any!conclusions.!Like!
Linnaeus!fourteen!years!later,!he!presents!his!classificatory!scheme!ad$hoc,!with!
no!apparent!context.25!Its!function!must!therefore!have!been!different!from!
simply!synthesizing!what!was!supposedly!known!already.!In!order!to!see!what!
that!function!might!have!been,!I!will!turn!to!a!feature!of!Linnaeus’!classification!
of!man!that!is!often!overlooked:!its!close!correlation!with!the!geographic!division!
of!four!continents.!
!
3.(Orientation(and(Accretion(of(Facts(
There!are!many!signs!that!Linnaeus!was!fascinated!from!early!on!with!the!four!
continents.!In!a!common!place!book!he!kept!as!a!student!at!Lund!University,!one!
finds!a!table!that!associates!various!drinks!with!the!four!continents:!Asia!is!
associated!with!tea!(Theè),!Africa!with!coffee!(Coffi),!America!with!chocolate!
(Chocolaten);!and!Europe!with!beer!(Cerevisia).26!The!journal!from!his!Lapland!
journey!in!1732!contains!a!famous!passage!in!which!he!describes!his!first!visit!to!
the!highlands!of!this!Northern!region!and!how!the!abundance!of!unknown!
species!caused!him!to!wonder!“whether!I!was!in!Asia!or!Africa,!as!the!soil,!the!
situation,!and!all!the!plants!were!unknown!to!me.”27!A!final!example!may!suffice.!
One!of!Linnaeus!first!botanical!publications—the!Hortus$Cliffortianus,!a!folio!

volume!published!two!years!after!the!Systema$naturae,!and!consisting!in!a!lush!
catalogue!of!the!exceptionally!rich!botanical!collections!of!the!merchant!banker!
and!former!director!of!the!Dutch!East!India!Company!George!Clifford!(1685-
1760)—contained!a!frontispiece!which!showed!Europa!at!the!center,!
surrounded!by!three!figures!to!the!left!impersonating!the!three!continents!Asia,!
Africa,!and!America,!each!of!them!presenting!a!plant!to!her,!and!a!male!figure!to!
the!right!caught!in!the!act!of!removing!a!cloak!from!her!head,!and!bearing!some!
unmistakable!resemblance!with!Linnaeus!himself!(see!fig.!2).!The!preface!to!this!
volume!has!a!long!section!that!lists!plant!species!characteristic!of!each!continent,!
and!highlights!Linnaeus’s!own!descent!from!Northern!Europe.28!
What!these!documents!suggest!is!that!the!four!continents!served!
Linnaeus!as!a!kind!of!geographic!grid!that!helped!him!to!orient!himself!on!a!
global!scale!(or,!for!that!matter,!to!express!disorientation).!If!we!apply!this!to!his!
distinction!of!four!human!varieties,!it!becomes!clear!that!this!distinction!was!not!
so!much!the!result!of!a!careful!synthesis!of!previously!established!facts,!but!
rather!a!deliberate!and!arbitrary!projection!to!support!the!future!accumulation!
of!facts.!That!this!is!indeed!so,!becomes!clear!once!one!follows!Linnaeus’s!
treatment!of!human!diversity!through!the!various!editions!of!Systema$naturae,!
and!also!attends!to!the!handwritten!annotations!that!peppered!his!personal!
copies!of!these!editions!(figs.!3!and!4).!The!tenth!edition,!published!in!1758,!saw!
the!first!substantial!expansion!of!the!classification!of!1735.!Again,!it!lists!four!
main!“varieties”!of!the!human!species,!numbered!consecutively!by!Greek!letters.!
Skin!color!remains!the!first!mark!of!distinction,!although!the!color!terms!have!
altered!to!red!(rufus),!white!(albus),!pale!yellow!(luridus)!and!black!(niger),!

indicating!both!a!hardening!and,!in!the!case!of!luridus,!a!more!judgmental!
distinction.29!In!addition,!Linnaeus!associated!a!range!of!other!characteristics!
with!his!four!human!varieties,!arranging!them!in!five!lines:!The!first!line!
describes!skin!color,!medical!temperament,!and!body!posture;!the!second!line!
adds!further!physical!characteristics!pertaining!to!hair!color!and!form,!eye!color,!
and!distinctive!facial!traits;!the!third!line!refers!to!behavior;!and!the!final!two!
lines!to!manner!of!clothing!and!political!constitution!respectively.30!Many!of!
these!characterizations!relied!on!nascent!racial!stereotypes!–!Africans,!for!
example,!are!said!to!be!governed!by!arbitrio,!which!can!be!translated!as!caprice!
or!dominion,!i.e.!mastery!by!others!–!yet!the!corrections!and!additions!in!
Linnaeus’s!personal!copies!also!make!clear!that!the!classification!was!fluid.!The!
notes!in!his!personal!copy!of!the!tenth!edition,!for!example,!indicate!that!
Linnaeus!wanted!to!change!the!characterization!of!“Americans”!from!“cheerful”!
(hilaris)!to!“content”!(contentus),!and!contemplated!moving!the!medical!
temperaments!to!the!line!dedicated!to!behavioral!traits!(see!fig.!3).31!Other!
annotations!in!the!twelfth!edition!include!a!short!definition!of!the!“moral!
character!of!the!Swede”—“credulous,!distrustful,!jealous,!conceited,!fickle,!dull,!
fidgety,!compliant”—and!hence!an!attempt!at!a!finer-grained!differentiation!
within!the!category!of!“white!Europeans”!(see!fig.!4).32!
Two!features!of!this!new!classification!scheme!fathoming!human!
variation!deserve!highlighting!and!further!comment.!First,!Linnaeus!rearranged!
the!order!of!the!four!varieties.!It!is!not!the!“white!Europeans”!anymore!that!
occupy!the!top!position,!as!in!all!previous!editions!of!Systema$Naturae,!but!the!
“Americans”,!echoing!ideas!of!the!noble!savage!that!particularly!come!to!the!fore!

in!the!behavioral!and!political!traits!assigned!to!the!latter:!“unyielding,!content,!
free”!(pertinax,$contentus,$liber)!as!well!as!“governed!by!customary!right”!
(consuetudo),!rather!than!laws!(Europeans),!opinions!(Asians)!or!caprice!
(Africans).!Second,!the!traits!are!arranged!in!five!lines!by!their!increasing!
“distance”!from!the!body:!traits!in!the!first!line!refer!to!bodily!constitution!as!
gauged!by!complexion,!temperament!and!composure;!the!second!line!singles!out!
characteristic!facial!features;!the!third!what!we!would!call!“behavioral”!traits;!
the!fourth!takes!up!apparel—with!Americans!“painting![themselves]!with!red!
streaks”!and!Africans!“smearing![themselves]!with!fat”,!while!“Europeans”!and!
“Asians”!wear!clothes,!the!former!tight,!the!latter!wide!clothes;!!and!the!fifth!
spells!out!the!presumed!social!and!political!constitution!of!the!four!varieties.!The!
impression!that!this!arrangement!is!meant!to!progress!from!internal,!and!hence!
more!constant,!to!more!variable,!external!properties!is!confirmed!by!the!fact!that!
in!his!annotations!to!the!tenth!edition,!Linnaeus!experimented!with!a!different!
arrangement!that!would!place!apparel!before!behavior!(fig.!3).!Further!
confirmation!is!provided!by!the!addition!of!a!fifth,!“monstruous”!human!variety!
(Monstrosus)!which!includes!a!variety!of!groups!clearly!shaped!by!external!
conditions:!natural!conditions!as!in!the!case!of!the!Alpini,!i.e.!humans!living!at!
high!altitudes,!which!Linnaeus!believed!to!be!“small,!agile,!and!timid”!(parvi,$
agiles,$timidi);!cultural!conditions!as!in!the!case!of!“slender!girls!with!constricted!
waists”!to!be!found!in!Europe!(Junceae$puellae$abdomine$attentuato:$Europaeae).!
As!Mary!Floyd-Wilson!has!remarked!about!Linnaeus’s!late!classifications!
of!humankind,!one!can!clearly!discern!in!them!“the!residual!matter!of!early!
modern!geohumoralism”,!that!is,!the!idea!that!climate!and!medical!

temperaments,!external!conditions!and!inner!constitution,!are!causally!
contiguous,!and!hence!mirror!each!other!in!the!shaping!of!human!differences,!
whether!physical,!behavioral,!or!cultural.!Floyd-Wilson!also!notes,!however,!that!
Linnaeus,!like!many!of!his!contemporaries!and!predecessors!in!the!early!modern!
period,!performs!a!radical!re-evaluation!of!these!relationship!between!medical!
temperaments!and!climates.!Phlegmatic!temperament,!most!notably,!is!now!
associated!with!a!black!complexion!and!a!“hot”!climate,!whereas!sanguine!
temperament!is!associated!with!whiteness!and!the!North,!in!stark!contrast!to!
ancient!and!medieval!lore.!Just!like!Francis!Bacon!and!Thomas!Browne!before!
him,!Floyd-Wilson!observes,!Linnaeus!loosened!the!“tie!between!skin!colour!and!
humoral!disposition,”!thus!allowing!for!a!radical!“restructuring!of!geohumoral!
theory.”!33!This!leads!to!a!surprising!conclusion,!however.!The!classification!of!
human!diversity!by!skin!color!that!Linnaeus!introduced!in!1735!was!not!only!
used!for!the!accretion!of!new!facts!about,!and!increasing!entrenchment!of,!
presupposed!racial!categories.!At!the!same!time,!its!abstract!and!ad$hoc!nature!
enabled!fundamental!inversions!in!the!received!framework!of!associating!
constitutions!and!climes.!
!
4.(Marrow(and(Bark:(The(Struggle(of(the(Sexes(
Geohumoral!theory!was!not!only!restructured!by!Linnaeus!because!he!decided!to!
realign!it!with!his!four-fold!classification!of!mankind.!More!fundamentally,!he!
embedded!it!in!a!physiological!theory!which!relegated!the!four!bodily!humours,!
and!hence!the!four!medical!temperaments,!to!the!status!of!mere!epiphenomena!
of!more!fundamental!substances!and!forces.!In!speculations!that!grew!more!and!

more!elaborate!the!older!he!became,!Linnaeus!assumed!that!all!physiological!
processes!were!due!to!the!antagonistic!interaction!of!two!fundamental!
substances,!the!marrow!(medulla)!which!had!a!capacity!for!uninhibited!growth,!
and!the!bark!(cortex)!which!contained!and!structured!this!growth.$In!addition,!he!
assumed!that!these!two!substances!were!passed!on!from!one!generation!to!the!
next!along!paternal!and!maternal!lines!respectively:!the!marrow!came!from!the!
mother,!and!the!cortex!from!the!father.34!The!distinction!of!the!two!substances!
clearly!reflects!Linnaeus’s!ideas!of!male!and!female!roles!in!the!economy!–!he!
identified!females!as!largely!responsible!for!the!drain!of!bullion!through!the!
consumption!of!luxury!goods!from!abroad35!–!but!also!his!own!growing!
exhaustion!with!trying!to!tame!the!diversity!of!nature!through!his!taxonomic!
enterprise.36!
Linnaeus’s!medulla-cortex!theory!was!highly!idiosyncratic—combining!
elements!of!iatromechanism’s!understanding!of!bodies!as!hydraulic!machines,!
with!a!curious!brand!of!vitalism—but!is!relevant!for!understanding!his!race!
concept!for!two!reasons.!First,!it!provides!a!strong!indication!that!Linnaeus,!in!
his!later!career,!began!to!think!of!living!nature!as!being!constituted!and!shaped!
by!an!underlying!struggle!between!antagonistic!forces!–!and!ideas!of!a!“struggle!
for!life”!would!become!one!of!the!central!elements!of!scientific!racism.37!Second,!
it!provided!him!with!an!explanation!for!the!origin!of!diversity!that!went!beyond!
climatic!degeneration!and!thus!could!account!for!the!formation!of!essential,!
rather!than!merely!accidental,!difference.!Assuming!that!even!widely!different!
life!forms!were!able!to!hybridize,!Linnaeus!developed!the!view!in!later!works!
that!God!had!only!created!a!few!forms!in!the!beginning!and!that!subsequently!

new!species!arose!though!hybridization,!and!hence!through!the!combination!of!
different!cortical!substances!with!the!medulla!of!the!original!form.!In!
Fundamentum$fructificationis,!a!late!essay!published!as!a!dissertation!in!1762,!
Linnaeus!explained!unique!features!of!the!North!–American!and!African!flora!on!
this!basis,!citing!strong!winds!at!the!Cape!of!God!Hope!as!a!possible!mechanism!
that!may!have!led!to!the!particularly!pronounced!proliferation!of!unusual!species!
in!this!region.38!
But!did!Linnaeus!ever!apply!this!theory!to!explain!human!diversity?!
Curiously,!there!is!no!sign!that!he!ever!tried!to!do!so.!What!we!do!find!in!terms!of!
explanations!of!human!diversity!are!hints!at!accounts!that!rely!on!migration!and!
subsequent!climatic!degeneration.!In!an!undated!zoological!manuscript!Linnaeus!
jotted!down,!for!example,!that!humans!enjoy!a!“rich!and!blessed!immaterial!soul”!
(Anima$immateriali$beata$dives),!form!a!“single!species”!(Species$unica),!and!
“roam!about”!(peregrinat),!even!to!places!like!Nicobar!and!Ambon!Island.39!In!
other!words,!what!unites!humans!has!no!immediate!relation!to!the!body,!and!all!
differences!among!humans!have!thus!come!about!accidentally.!With!the!
possession!of!a!rational!soul,!humans!essentially!remained!part!of!the!divine!
order!for!Linnaeus,!even!if!they!were!hardly!distinguishable!from!their!next!of!
kin!in!the!animal!kingdom—“Man’s!cousins”,!as!the!Swedish!version!of!a!text!by!
Linnaues!on!primates!was!entitled—and!even!if!they!could!be!subjected!to!
classification!just!as!any!other!animal!species!could.40!
!
5.(Conclusion(

Race!is!tied!up!with!metaphors!of!blood;!talk!of!bloodlines,!the!mixing!of!blood,!
or!the!“one!drop!of!blood”!rule!provides!abundant!evidence.!The!connection!goes!
back!to!the!late!medieval!period,!when!ancient!conceptions!of!“noble!blood”!
were!revived!in!the!context!of!animal!breeding!and!transposed!to!debates!
around!nobility.41!The!connection!is!tenuous!nevertheless,!as!the!example!of!
Linnaeus!that!I!have!analyzed!in!this!chapater!clearly!demonstrates.!Race!as!we!
know!it,!while!clearly!rooted!in!the!racist!preconceptions!that!colonial!
encounters!precipitated,!did!not!simply!grow!out!of!the!ancient!entwinement!of!
the!microcosm!of!bodily!humors!and!the!macrocosm!of!climates!and!regions.!
Quite!on!the!contrary.!With!Paul!Feyerabend,!one!might!want!to!claim!that!
Linnaeus!engaged!in!an!exercise!of!“counter-induction”!when!setting!up!his!
racial!classification!according!to!skin!color!and!later!associating!it!with!the!four!
medical!temperaments,!and!hence!the!balance!of!body!humors.!This!
classification!dissociated!physical!traits!both!from!bodily!constitution!and!
natural!environment,!only!to!open!an!entirely!new!space!of!phenomena!that!
would!form!the!subject!of!speculations!about!the!contingent!relationship!of!
organic!bodies!and!their!“natural!places”!in!theories!of!inheritance!and,!
eventually,!evolution.42!Immanuel!Kant,!in!particular,!would!have!no!qualms!in!
filling!the!explanatory!gap!that!Linnaeus!had!left.43!
Linnaeus’s!color!scheme!became,!as!Renato!Mazzolini!recently!pointed!
out,!an!“integral!part!of!all!subsequent!classifications!of!the!late!eighteenth!and!
the!first!half!of!the!nineteenth!century.”!It!did!so,!as!Mazzolini!argues!on!the!basis!
of!a!careful!bibliometric!analyses,!not!because!skin!color!was!associated!with!
bodily!constitution,!but!because!it!quite!literally!had!turned!out!to!be!a!

“skindeep”!phenomenon!only,!located!in!the!so-called!Malpighian!layer!of!the!
skin,!and!hence!was!freed!up!to!define!a!European!“somatic!identity!mainly!
constructed!on!political-social!relationships.”44!It!cannot!be!emphasized!enough!
how!phantastic!Linnaeus’s!color!scheme!actually!is,!if!judged!in!terms!of!the!
humoral!doctrine:!white!is!red!(sanguine),!black!is!white!(phlegmatic),!yellow!is!
black!(melancholic),!and!red!is!yellow!(choleric).!The!fact!that!it!sticks!with!us!to!
this!day!only!demonstrates!how!overwhelmingly!powerful!the!discourse!was!
that!took!hold!within!the!conceptual!space!thus!freed!up.!
!
!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
NOTES!
1!Stephen!J.!Gould,!The$Mismeasure$of$Man,!2nd!ed.!(New!York:!W.!W.!Norton,!1996),!p.!66;!see!C.!
Loring!Brace,!Race$Is$a$Four-Letter$Word:$The$Genesis$of$the$Concept!(Oxford:!Oxford!University!
Press,!2005),!p.!17–36,!for!a!more!recent!version!of!the!standard!account.!
2!Carl!Linnaeus,!Systema$Naturae!(Amsterdam:!Schouten,!1935),!unpag.![p.!10].!
3!Gunnar!Broberg,!Homo$sapiens$L.:$Studier$i$Carl$von$Linnés$naturuppfattning$och$människolära!
(Uppsala:!Almquist!&!Wiksell,!1975),!ch.!5.!
4!Carl!Linnaeus,!‘Rön!om!växters!plantering!grundat!på!naturen,’!Kungliga$Svenska$Vetenskaps-
Akademiens$Handlingar!1!(1739),!5–24.!
5!See,!for!example,!Jonathan!Marks,!Human$Biodiversity:$Genes,$Race,$and$History!(New!
Brunswick:!Aldine!Transaction,!1995),!p.!50.!
6!Phillip!R.!Sloan,!‘The!Gaze!of!Natural!History,’!in!Inventing$Human$Science:$Eighteenth-Century$
Domains,!edited!by!Christopher!Fox,!Roy!Porter,!and!Robert!Wokler!(Berkeley:!University!of!
California!Press,!1995),!112–151,!p.!128.!Presenting!Linnaeus’s!distinction!as!a!series!of!

!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
trinomials!goes!back!at!least!to!Stephen!Jay!Gould’s!Mismeasure$of$Man,!p.!66,!and!probably!has!
its!origin!in!an!English!translation!of!the!first!part!of!thirteenth,!posthumous!edition!of!Systema$
Naturae!that!was!published!in!1792;!see!Carl!Linnaeus,!The$Animal$Kingdom,$or$Zoological$
System,!edited!by!Johann!Friedrich!Gmelin,!translated!by!Robert!Kerr!(London!and!Edinburgh:!A.!
Strahan,!T.!Cadell,!and!W.!Creech,!1792),!p.!45.!As!Kerr!stated!quite!openly!in!the!full!title!of!the!
publication,!this!edition!contained!“numerous!additions!from!more!recent!zoological!writers”.!
7!Ibid.,!p.!121.!
8!Carl!Linnaeus,!Genera$Plantarum!(Leiden:!Wishoff,!1737),!“Ratio!operis”,!aph.!8![unpag.].!For!a!
translation!of!this!important!methodological!text,!see!Staffan!Müller-Wille!and!Karen!Reeds,!‘A!
translation!of!Carl!Linnaeus’!introduction!to!Genera$Plantarum!(1737),’!Studies$in$History$and$
Philosophy$of$the$Biological$and$Biomedical$Sciences,!38!(2007),!563–572.!
9!Ibid.,!aph.!5;!see!Staffan!Müller-Wille,!“Collection!and!Collation:!Theory!and!Practice!of!Linnaean!
Botany,”!Studies$in$History$and$Philosophy$of$the$Biological$and$Biomedical$Sciences,!38!(2007),!
541–562.!
10!Carl!Linaneus,!Critica$Botanica$(Leiden:!Wishoff,!1737),!p.!255.!Linnaeus!knew!of!many!cases!of!
“constant!varieties”!among!plants,!and!seems!to!have!shared!the!widespread!conviction!that!the!
environment!has!effects!on!organisms!that!will!only!recede!after!many!generations!upon!
transplantation;!see!John!Ramsbottom,!‘Linnaeus!and!the!Species!Concept,’!Proceedings$of$the$
Linnean$Society$London,!150!(1938),!192–219.!Conversely,!he!believed!that!exotic!plants,!even!
from!warmer!regions!of!the!globe,!could!be!acclimatized!to!Swedish!conditions;!see!Lisbet!
Koerner,!‘Linnaeus´s!Floral!Transplants,’!Representations,!47!(1994),!144–169.!
11!Linnaeus,!Critica$Botanica,!p.!153.!
12!Broberg,!Homo$sapiens$L.,!p.!228.!
13!Carl!Linnaeus,!Sponsalia$plantarum$!(Stockholm:!Salvius,!1746),!p.!26.!

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14!Georges-Louis!Leclerc,!Comte!de!Buffon,!Histoire$naturelle,$générale$et$particuliére,!Vol.!3!
(Paris:!Imprimerie!Royale,!1749),!pp.!371–530.!
15!Carl!Linnaeus!to!Bernard!de!Jussieu,!25!March!1752,!The$Linnaean$correspondence,!
URL=linnaeus.c18.net,!letter!L1387!(consulted!24!January!2014).!
16!A!catalogue!of!Celsius’s!botanical!library!has!been!preserved!which!lists!Marcgrave’s!work;!see!
“Catalogus!Bibliothecae!Botanicae![…]!Olavo!Celsio,!Bibliohteca!haec!Regia!suo!aeve!emit!d.!XV.!
Novemb.!MDCCXXXVIII”,!Uppsala!University!Library,!Donationskataloger!över!tryckta!böcker!
m.m.!A-J,!Bibl.!Arkiv!K!52:1.!On!Linnaeus!and!Celsius,!see!Wilfrid!Blunt,!The$Compleat$Naturalist:$
A$Life$of$Linnaeus!(London:!Collins,!1971),!pp.!30–36.!
17!Willem!Piso!and!Georg!Marcgrave,!Historia$Natvralis$Brasiliae!(Amsterdam:!Elzevir,!1648),!p.!
268:!“In!genere!autem!vocant!omnes!Europaeos”.!
18!Ibid.:!“Denique!ob!misturam!variorum!nationum,!aliae!qunique!distinctae!hominum!species!
haec!reperiuntur.”!On!the!castas-system,!which!was!only!really!popularized!in!Europe!through!
the!writings!of!Buffon!and!Cornelis!de!Pauw!(1739–1799)!in!the!1770s,!see!Renato!G.!Mazzolini,!
‘Las!Castas:!Inter-Racial!Crossing!and!Social!Structure!(1770--1835)’,!in!Heredity$Produced.$At$the$
Crossroads$of$Biology,$Politics$and$Culture,$1500-1870,!edited!by!Staffan!Müller-Wille!and!Hans-
Jörg!Rheinberger!(Cambridge,!Mass.:!MIT!Press,!2007),!pp.!349–373.!
19!Harald!Vallerius,!De$Varia$Hominum$Forma$Externa!(Uppsala:!Werner,!1705);!François!Bernier,!
“Nouvelle!division!de!la!terre!par!les!différentes!espèces!ou!races!d’hommes!qui!l’habitent”,!
Journal$de$Sçavans,!24!Avril!1684!(1684),!pp.!133–140.!As!far!as!I!can!see,!there!is!no!evidence!
that!Linnaeus!ever!read!Bernier’s!essay.!
20!Quoted!from!Broberg,!Homo$sapiens$L.,!p.!221.!The!“white!Ethiopians”,!as!Broberg!explains,!go!
back!to!Plinius!account!of!black!albinos.!!
21!Bernier,!“Nouvelle!Division”,!p.!136.!

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22!Carl!Linnaeus,!“Manuscripta!Medica,”!Vol.!I,!Linnean!Society!Library!and!Archives,!Linnaean!
Collections,!Box!LM!Gen,!Folder!LINN!PAT!GEN!2,!f.!83v.!The!plate!from!which!Linnaeus!copied!
the!bat!can!be!found!in!Richard!Bradley,!A$Philosophical$Account$of$the$Works$of$Nature!(London:!
Mears,!1721),!p.!88,!pl.!xiii,!fig.!ii.!For!a!reproduction!and!discussion!of!Linnaeus’s!drawing,!see!
Isabelle!Charmantier,!‘Carl!Linnaeus!and!the!Visual!Representation!of!Nature’,!Historical$Studies$
in$the$Natural$Sciences!41:4!(2011),!365–404,!p.!380,!fig.!5.!!
23!Bradley,!Philosophical$Account,!p.!95.!
24!Ibid.,!p.!169.!
25!It!is!easy!to!see,!however,!that!Bradely’s!contribution!stands!in!the!tradition!of!naturalizing!
human!diversity,!and!treating!it!as!a!question!of!natural!history,!rather!than!theology,!which!
began!in!Britain!with!John!Locke;!see!David!Carey,!Locke,$Shaftesbury,$and$Hutcheson:$Contesting$
Diversity$in$the$Enlightenment$and$Beyond!(Cambridge:!Cambridge!University!Press,!2006),!pp.!
15–23.!
26!Carl!Linnaeus,!“Manucripta!medica!(1727–1730)”,!Linnean!Society!Library!and!Archives,!
Linnaean!Collection,!Manuscripts,!Vol.!I,!f.!38v.!
27!Carl!Linnaeus,!Iter$lapponicum,!edited!by!Thomas!M.!Fries.!Skrifter!af!Carl!von!Linné,!Vol.!5!
(Upsala:!Almqvist!and!Wiksells,!1913),!p.!106.!
28!For!a!detailed!analysis!of!the!frontispiece!to!Hortus$cliffortianus,!see!Gunnar!Broberg,!“Naturen!
på!bild:!Anteckningar!och!Linneanska!exempel,”!Lychnos!1979–80!(1980),!231–256.!
29!On!the!change!from!fuscus!to!luridus,!see!Michael!Keevak,!Becoming$Yellow:$A$Short$History$of$
Racial$Thinking!(Princeton!:!Princeton!University!Press,!2011),!pp.!51–57.!
30!Carl!Linnaeus,!Systema$Naturae,!Tenth!Edition!(Stockholm:!Salvius,!1758),!vol.!1,!pp.!20–22.!
31!Carl!Linnaeus,!Systema$Naturae,!Tenth!Edition,!3!vols.!(Stockholm:!Salvius,!1758),!Linnean!
Society!London,!Linnaean!Collections,!Library,!BL16,!vol.!1,!pp.!20–22.!The!change!in!the!

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characterization!of!“Americans”!happened!with!the!twelfth!edition!(see!citation!in!fn.!33),!the!
medical!temperaments!remained!in!the!first!line!however.!
32!Carl!Linnaeus,!Systema$Naturae,!Twelfth!Edition,!3!vols.!(Stockholm:!Salvius,!1766–1768),!
Linnean!Society!London,!Linnaean!Collections,!Library,!BL.21,!vol.!1,!p.!29.!The!regional!fauna!
that!Linnaeus!produced!for!Sweden!contains!a!classification!of!his!home!country’s!population!
into!four!varieties,!“Goths”!(Gothi),!“Finns”!(Fennones),!“Lapps”!(Lappones),!and!“Various!
mixtures!of!the!preceding”!(Varii$&$mixti$ex$praecedentibus);!see!Carl!Linnaeus,!Fauna$Suecica!
(Stockholm:!Salvius,!1746),!p.!1.!
33!Mary!Floyd-Wilson,!English$Ethnicity$and$Race$in$Early$Modern$Drama!(Cambridge:!Cambridge!
University!Press,!2003),!p.!86.!In!the!same!way,!“Creole!physicians!found!ways!to!adapt!the!wide!
and!permissive!Hippocratic!landscape!to!their!New!World!circumstances;”!Carlos!López!Beltrán,!
“Hippocratic!Bodies,!Temperament!and!Castas!in!Spanish!America!(1570-1820)”,!Journal$of$
Spanish$Cultural$Studies!8!(2007),!253–289,!pp.!276–277.!!
34!For!a!detailed!discussion,!see!Peter!F.!Stevens,!and!Steven!P.!Cullen,!“Linnaeus,!the!Cortex-
Medulla!Theory,!and!the!Key!to!His!Understanding!of!Plant!Form!and!Natural!Relationships”,!
Journal$of$the$Arnold$Arboretum!71!(1990),!179–220.!
35!Lisbet!Koerner,!Linnaeus:$Nature$and$Nation!(Cambridge,!MA:!Harvard!University!Press,!1999).!
36!On!the!late!Linnaeus’s!disenchantment!with!natural!history,!see!Elis!Malmeström,!Carl!von!
Linnés!religiösa!åskådning!(Stockholm:!Svenska!Kyrkans!Diakonistyrelse!Bokförlag,!1926).!
37!Michel!Foucault,!“Society$Must$Be$Defended”:$Lectures$at$the$College$de$France,$1975-1976!
(London:!Picador,!2003).!
38!Carl!Linnaeus,!Fundamentum$Fructificationis!(Uppsala:!No!publisher,!1762).!The!proposition!
that!the!environment!of!Africa,!in!particular,!fosters!the!production!of!new!species!echoes!ancient!
ideas;!see!Harvey!M.!Feinberg!and!Joseph!B.!Solodow,!“Out!of!Africa,”!Journal$of$African$History!43!
(2002),!255–261.!

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39!Carl!Linnaeus,!“Zoologia”,!Linnean!Society!London,!Linnaean!Collections,!Manuscripta!Medica!I,!
Folder!“Pertinet!ad!Linnaei!Manuscr.!Med.”.!
40!On!Linnaeus’s!classification!of!man,!see!Gunnar!Broberg,!“Linnaeus’s!Classifications!of!Man,”!in:!
Linnaeus:$The$Man$and$His$Work,!edited!by!Tore!Frängsmyr!(Berkeley:!University!of!California!
Press,!1983).!Eric!Voegelin!has!made!the!general!point!that!the!kind!of!body-soul!dualism!that!we!
find!exemplified!in!Linnaeus!tended!to!prevent!the!full!naturalization!of!human!difference;!see!
Eric!Voegelin,$Die$Rassenidee$in$der$Geistesgeschichte$von$Ray$bis$Carus!(Berlin:!Junker!und!
Dünnhaupt!Verlag,!1933).!
41!Maaike!van!der!Lugt!and!Charles!de!Miramon,!“Introduction,”!in!L’hérédité$entre$Moyen$Age$et$
époque$moderne,!edited!by!Maaike!van!der!Lugt!and!Charles!de!Miramon!(Florence:!SISMEL—
Edizioni!del!Galluzzo,!2008),!p.!3–40.!
42!Staffan!Müller-Wille!and!Hans-Jörg!Rheinberger,!A$Cultural$History$of$Heredity!(Chicago:!
University!of!Chicago!Press,!2012),!p.!59.!
43!On!Kant’s!theory,!see!Raphaël!Lagier,!Les$races$humaines$selon$Kant!(Paris:!Presses!
Universitaires!de!France,!2004).!
44!Renato!Mazzolini,!“Skin!Color!and!the!Origin!of!Physical!Anthropology,”!in!Reproduction,$Race,$
and$Gender$in$philosophy$and$the$Early$Life$Sciences,!edited!by!Susanne!Lettow!(New!York:!SUNY!
Press,!2014),!131–161,!p.!151.!