François Bernier, a French physician and traveler from the 17th century, is often remembered not only for his medical expertise but also for his distinctive approach to anthropology and his contribution to the understanding of race and society. His unique career and pioneering thoughts have left an indelible mark on both medical history and social science.
Early Life and Education
Born in 1625 in the small town of Bergerac in southwestern France, François Bernier was initially drawn to the medical field. He studied at the University of Montpellier, one of the most renowned medical schools of the time, where he earned his degree in medicine. However, it was not just the practice of medicine that fascinated Bernier; his intellectual curiosity stretched far beyond the confines of the classroom, drawing him to explore various cultures and societies across the world.
A Journey Beyond Medicine
In 1653, Bernier left France for the Mughal Empire, one of the most powerful and culturally rich regions of the time, as a personal physician to the Mughal emperor’s court. His experiences in India greatly influenced his thinking and the trajectory of his career. During his time in the subcontinent, Bernier not only treated the emperor’s court but also observed the vast cultural and racial diversity within the empire.
His observations were not just medical but also social and anthropological, laying the foundation for his most famous work, Travels in the Mughal Empire. In his book, Bernier provided a detailed account of the Mughal Empire’s political structure, the customs of its people, and the unique geography of the region. However, it was his discussions on race and human classification that were most groundbreaking.
Bernier’s View on Race
François Bernier’s thoughts on race were far ahead of his time. In a work published in 1684, Nouvelle Division de la Terre par les Différentes Especes ou Races qui l’Habitent (A New Division of the Earth by the Different Species or Races that Inhabit It), Bernier proposed a classification of humans based on physical characteristics, which is considered one of the earliest attempts at racial categorization in scientific discourse.
Bernier divided humanity into four major “races,” a concept he introduced to explain the differences he observed in people across different parts of the world. These included the Europeans, the Africans, the Asians, and the “Tartars” or people from the Mongol region. While his ideas on race are considered outdated and problematic today, they were groundbreaking for their time and laid the groundwork for later anthropological and racial theories.
Legacy and Influence
Bernier’s contributions went beyond the realm of medicine and anthropology. His writings were influential in European intellectual circles and contributed to the growing European interest in the non-Western world. His observations, especially regarding the Indian subcontinent, provided European readers with a new understanding of distant lands and cultures. In the context of medical history, his role as a physician in the Mughal court also underscores the importance of medical exchanges across different cultures during the 17th century.
François Bernier died in 1688, but his legacy continued to shape the fields of medicine, anthropology, and colonial studies long after his death. Although his views on race would be critically examined and challenged in the centuries to follow, his adventurous spirit and intellectual curiosity left an indelible mark on the study of human diversity and the interconnectedness of the world.
