Leeuwenhoek in Mexico: new paths in the global circulation of scientific knowledge

Abstract

Abstract Anthony van Leeuwenhoek (1632–1723) was the first to observe single-celled organisms. Between 1673 and 1723 he sent 189 letters containing scientific observations to the Royal Society, 114 of which were edited into 117 published articles in the Philosophical Transactions; he also self-published 153 letters in Dutch and Latin. He compiled a selection of these correspondences into a Latin text, entitled Arcana Naturae Detecta. Here, we report a rare second edition of Arcana Naturae Detecta (1722), which includes original inscriptions confirming its acquisition in 1746 for the Carmelite College of Liberal Arts of San Joaquín in Mexico City. The presence of this book in an academic institution in Mexico City, a mere 24 years after its publication in Europe, changes our understanding of early microscopy by adding tangible material evidence and context to its global circulation and its reception in the Americas.