Scientific Networks &
Voyages

In the Eighteenth and Nineteenth Centuries, scientific networks were essential for information exchange, the sharing of specimens and data, and the creation of global collections. Many natural history objects were collected on long voyages around the globe, such as that of Joseph Banks on the Endeavour. Likewise, important global theories were developed by naturalists such as Alexander von Humboldt and Charles Darwin, whose voyages were instrumental in the development of their ideas. Many of the objects collected on French voyages were brought back to the Muséum d'Histoire naturelle for preservation, classification, and study.