The formation and study of natural history and paleontology collections was part of the installation of political order under the Empire of Brazil, as well as the establishment of a scientific program. The symbiosis between science and the nation was actively promoted by Peter W. Lund, pioneer of paleontology studies in the country. The collections and writings produced by the naturalist lent support to the visualization of the past and the writing of history in Brazilian and European scientific and cultural institutions and museums. The disputes over the political order under the Regencies and the Majority were closely accompanied by the study and explanation of the forms of life and the planet found in the past.