Disarmingly simple, but only after the fact

March 10, 2024 3:26 AM

The dexterity required bears emphasizing because resistance to the idea that an enslaved 12-year-old person of color could make a major botanical discovery endured well into the 20th century. In a 1938 racist historical novel Les Vanilliers, white French author Georges Limbour depicts Albius as possessing “the clumsiness of an ignorant insect.” Many botanists had tried to work out how to pollinate the plant by hand and failed. In the 1830s, Charles Morren, professor of botany in Liége, Belgium, successfully pollinated vanilla using a microscope and tiny scissors. But the method “takes probably 20 minutes” Jennings says, and was not useful for agriculture. from The Boy Who Was King of Vanilla [Nautilus; ungated]
posted by chavenet (7 comments total)

What an exceptional story to begin the day with! Thank you for this post.
posted by hilaryjade at 6:32 AM on March 10 [2 favorites]

A fascinating and sad story. What kind of an amazing botanist could this child have become if he were given an education and allowed to mature to his potential?

Bellier-Beaumont got rich on the “his faithful companion”
the "exceptional child", and Albius lived in slavery and no doubt didn't get his acknowledgement (and freakin' statue) until after he died. I'm sure he'd have traded the bronze sculpture for a little piece of paper with manumission.

*I saw the words "The dexterity required bears", pollination" and "botany" and immediately went to the link, because animals and plant science are always relevant to my interests. I read the whole article, then had to go back and read the posting carefully, because I couldn't figure what ursines had to do with it.

Pour another cup, please. I'm obviously not awake enough.
posted by BlueHorse at 8:36 AM on March 10 [6 favorites]

Oh no, I’ve already ordered the bears for my passive income vanilla farm and petting zoo. I really should have read the article
posted by The River Ivel at 11:00 AM on March 10 [9 favorites]

I also thought you were going to need some bears for the dexterity
posted by RustyBrooks at 12:46 PM on March 10 [4 favorites]

Albius means white. A poor joke.
posted by bq at 1:04 PM on March 10 [1 favorite]

All right, I take it back:

“In 1848, France outlawed slavery in its colonies, and Albius left the plantation for St. Denis, where he worked as a kitchen servant. He adopted Albius as his new surname from alba "white" in reference to the vanilla orchid's colour.” https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Edmond_Albius
posted by bq at 1:08 PM on March 10 [7 favorites]

BlueHorse, obviously it required emphasizing bears in order to break down the resistance to the idea. Imagine bears smacking their fisted paw into their other paw, or roaring over one’s objections. I imagine you’d be more open to whatever idea they were emphasizing if so confronted. It’s a good technique for the rhetorical toolbox; I’m surprised it hasn’t seen more use.
posted by gentilknight at 1:34 AM on March 11 [3 favorites]