This was the proud and justified boast of a nation which had helped produce the scientific and industrial revolutions of the 17th and 18th centuries, and had almost simultaneously embarked upon colonizing large parts of the world. Colonial expansion required knowledge of the terrain, its people, its resources, and so on. No domination could be established without this knowledge. And this knowledge could not be obtained without scientific explorations and surveys. Next to the guns and ships, these were the most potent tools in the hands of a colonizing power. Through them it could afford to know unknown people, chart untrodden paths, and estimate local resources. So, surveyors marched by the side of conquering armies. Topographical surveys had military origins and this relationship was maintained throughout (India got its first civilian Surveyor General only in 1991!). Similarly, meteorological observations and data were important for a seafaring colonizer and an agro-based colony. Geological surveys came late. They started as a part of topographical explorations but as British rule stabilized, they acquired their own identity and played a major role in the economic exploitation of the country. But botanical explorations had started much earlier, in the 18th century itself, in some cases, even before. After all, the colonies were called plantations; they traded in plant products, and had a lot to do with botanical knowledge.