Le rayonnement international de la Société zoologique d'acclimatation : Participation de l'Espagne entre 1854 et 1861 / The international influence of the Société zoologique d'acclimatation : Spanish participation between 1854 and 1861

SUMMARY. — The Société zoologique d'acclimatation, promoted by Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire, was founded in Paris on February 10, 1854. Its main aim was the introduction, acclimatization and domestication in France of useful exotic animals, in order to provide new resources for agriculture and industry. The scientific ideas that informed the project were rooted in Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's theory of the limited variability of type. Although the Society had from the start an international vocation, this aspect has received scant attention. Our study focuses on the case of Spain, thereby bringing new evidence to the topic. The principles of acclimatization are analyzed through the opinions of the two major naturalists of the 19th century (Isidore Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire in France and Mariano de la Paz Graells in Spain), as expressed in their correspondence. In spite of the importance of the theory of the limited variability of type in Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's biological conception, transformism was not a primary subject of discussion when the Society was created. The Society seems rather to have been centered on Geoffroy Saint-Hilaire's program for improving public well-being.