Le JATBA et ses ancêtres

• Published in: Revue d'ethnoécologie Vol. 1
• Main Author: Catherine Hoare
• Format: Journal Article
• Language: English
• Published: Laboratoire Éco-anthropologie et Ethnobiologie 01-06-2012
• Subjects: agriculture; botany; colonial agronomy; ethnobotany; history
• DOI: 10.4000/ethnoecologie.673
• EISSN: 2267-2419

Botanist Auguste Chevalier, explorer in Africa in the early 20th century, founded the Revue de Botanique appliquée et d’Agriculture coloniale in 1921. Just after WW1, European countries launched policies to “call attention” to the colonies and sought new cost-effective products. The journal dealt with agriculture, horticulture and forestry issues. For over 30 years, Chevalier was at the head of the Colonial Agronomy laboratory of the Muséum National d’Histoire Naturelle, and supervised this scientific publication, often writing a large part of its contents himself.In 1954, the journal became the Journal d’Agriculture tropicale et de Botanique Appliquée. New headings, new editors, new contents. The journal then supported the emergence of French ethnobotany. Yet, harder years followed the prosperous period of the 30’s, with occasional lacks, financial, political and scientific hazards distinguishing the history of this periodical. JATBA is now attempting a fresh start and we shall try to recount its history in this paper.