Jacques Boyceau de la Barauderie played a vital role in transitioning from the moral discourse of mesnagement politics to a scholarly discourse of territorial government. This esteemed and charismatic courtier was from a renowned Huguenot gardening lineage residing near the Tuileries in Paris. He was a learned individual with aspirations for his career, aiming to elevate garden design to a prestigious art form, aligning it more with architecture than agriculture. He believed that aspiring gardeners with talent should receive formal education in mathematics, engineering, and classical design to approach rational land use in the traditional mesnagement style as an intellectual pursuit.

Education would enable them to create French gardens with a precise sense of order that would emphasize the connections between French and classical culture and showcase the natural orderliness of nature. Boyceau thought that parterres should be intricately and symmetrically designed to represent the richness and organization of nature as understood by science. This design technique aimed to enhance gardens towards perfection through human intelligence, portraying the effort as cerebral and a result of knowledge rather than religion, as depicted in Boyceau’s writings. He combined antique and scientific types of “rationality” with management tactics through this change in register.

Jacques Boyceau de la Barauderie played a vital role in transitioning from the moral discourse of mesnagement politics to a scholarly discourse of territorial government.
André Le Nôtre, a protege of Boyceau, created gardens for Louis XIV that served as elaborate demonstrations of advanced territory management techniques. André Félibien, the publicist, commended them for enhancing nature via art, in accordance with Boyceau’s instructions. Louis XIV opposed the Huguenots by revoking the Edict of Nantes and reinstating faith as the primary moral guideline for Christian rule. Despite this, the land management techniques and political principles introduced by Boyceau continued to be important in French governance without religious associations. Stewardship was integrated into territory administration, with botanical study and horticulture continuing to be significant components of government.

French colonial rule was influenced by moral beliefs that connected legitimacy with visible and efficient land administration. Initially, Jean-Baptiste Colbert, a prominent statesman, envisioned colonies thriving rapidly and achieving equal political rank, social norms, and material authority as other areas of France. Colonial territories necessitated a high degree of expertise and systematic control of the environment, which was challenging to achieve, especially in regions beyond France. In Saint Domingue (Haiti), stewardship was successful due to the lack of customary land management practices following the devastation caused by sickness and the Spanish. The labor force consisted of slaves who were forcibly taken from their homelands to inhabit the island. The sugar plantations at Saint Domingue achieved both the “natural orderliness” linked to virtuous management and the “abundance” necessary to support the required infrastructure.

However, territoriality was less effective in Canada, Louisiana, and Madagascar due to the presence of indigenous tribes determined to maintain their traditional lifestyles, despite the favorable botanical resources in these colonies. Illness, wars, and limited success in economic endeavors resulted in these locations being poor illustrations of “dominion” or effective governance. In these colonies, prioritizing the conversion of the populace to Christianity became more important than land redistribution.

Plants having beneficial or aromatic properties were sent to France to be integrated into French culture both academically and practically. In the 17th and 18th centuries, plants from the colonies were brought into mainstream botanical practices and incorporated into territorial politics. The Jardin du Roi showcased exotic plants and intellectual achievements to Parisians, ceremonially transforming foreign specimens into valuable assets for France.

The structure of French botanical research shifted due to the fading aspirations of replicating Eden in the colonies. Botanists dispatched to these areas in the mid-17th century served as collectors and correspondents for the Académie Royale des Sciences. They may or may not establish their own gardens independently, but they were definitely not tasked with being caretakers of their own colonies. Their collections were relocated to botanical gardens in French urban centers.

Plants were integrated into French soil to prepare them for involvement in French intellectual and political activities. This plant movement can be seen as a reflection of a centralizing trend in French state governance, but it was more closely linked to French territoriality, religious origins, and their connection to botanical and horticultural knowledge.