Student Article

The traditional view of the scientific revolution centers on European figures such as Copernicus, Galileo, and Newton. But this narrative overlooks the rich contributions of scientists and thinkers from around the globe. The period between 1500 and 1800 was one of significant cross-cultural exchange that deeply shaped modern science.

Global contributions to Copernicus’s work

Copernicus is often credited with starting the revolution by proposing that the Sun — not the Earth — was at the center of the universe. However, his work heavily relied on earlier Islamic and Jewish scholarship. He cited Muslim astronomers like Al-Battani and Nasir al-Din al-Tusi, whose mathematical tools were critical to his models. He even directly copied Tusi’s planetary motion diagram in his famous book.

Aztec contributions to medicine

In 16th-Century Mexico, Aztec physician Martín de la Cruz wrote a book describing the healing properties of New World plants. Trained before and after the Spanish conquest, Cruz blended Aztec and European systems to create a new form of scientific knowledge. His work influenced European scientists, even if they didn’t always credit him.

African contributions to science

Another overlooked figure is Graman Kwasi, an enslaved African in Surinam who discovered a plant-based treatment for malaria. The plant, now known as Quassia amara, was named in his honor by Carl Linnaeus. Kwasi’s knowledge — built from African, Indigenous, and European sources — earned him freedom and international scientific respect.

A global scientific exchange

These examples reveal that science did not develop in isolation. Rather, it was born from a global web of ideas, travel, trade, and even conquest. Understanding this global history challenges the myth that science is a purely Western achievement.

© James Poskett / www.historyextra.com