Experiencing nature [electronic resource] : the Spanish American empire and the early scientific revolution / Antonio Barrera-Osorio.

Searching the land for commodities
A chamber of knowledge: the Casa de la Contratación and its empirical methods
Communities of experts: artisans and innovation in the New World
Circuits of information: reports from the New World
Books of nature: scholars, natural history, and the New World
Conclusions: the politics of knowledge
Appendix 1. Pilots and cosmographers at the Casa de la Contratación
Appendix 2. Instruments
Appendix 3. Spanish scientific books.