Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden AgeA new and unexpected history of the Dutch pursuit of commerce in the 16th and 17th centuries and how it triggered the Scientific Revolution In this wide-ranging and stimulating book, a leading authority on the history of medicine and science presents convincing evidence that Dutch commerce—not religion—inspired the rise of science in the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Harold J. Cook scrutinizes a wealth of historical documents relating to the study of medicine and natural history in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Asia during this era, and his conclusions are fresh and exciting. He uncovers direct links between the rise of trade and commerce in the Dutch Empire and the flourishing of scientific investigation. Cook argues that engaging in commerce changed the thinking of Dutch citizens, leading to a new emphasis on such values as objectivity, accumulation, and description. The preference for accurate information that accompanied the rise of commerce also laid the groundwork for the rise of science globally, wherever the Dutch engaged in trade. Medicine and natural history were fundamental aspects of this new science, as reflected in the development of gardens for both pleasure and botanical study, anatomical theaters, curiosity cabinets, and richly illustrated books about nature. Sweeping in scope and original in its insights, this book revises previous understandings of the history of science and ideas. |
From inside the book
Results 1-5 of 94
... while dying in mainly Calvinist Leiden, he was always chary of being forced to make public declarations of faith. Benefiting from an excellent education, opportunities to investigate nature and 84 Reformations Tempered.
... Leiden. The university was a reward to a great and loyal city. At the end of 1573, as the Hapsburg troops were successfully retaking the provinces of the low countries, having just recaptured nearby Haarlem after a prolonged siege, they ...
... Leiden, partly as a reward for its heroic loyalty in the Orangist cause: the only larger city, Amsterdam, still held out for the Brussels government. (The often-told story that William offered Leiden a choice between exemption from ...
... Leiden's municipal government itself was not dogmatically Calvinist: the city's liberal Calvinist preacher, Caspar Coolhaes, once remarked that ''it was not Calvin who died for our sins.''81 The militants complained mightily about such ...
You have reached your viewing limit for this book.
Contents
1 | |
42 | |
82 | |
Four Commerce and Medicine in Amsterdam | 133 |
Five Truths and Untruths from the Indies | 175 |
Descartes in the Republic | 226 |
Seven Industry and Analysis | 267 |
Eight Gardens of the Indies Transported | 304 |
The Medicine of East Asia | 339 |
Sticking to Simple Things | 378 |
Eleven Conclusions and Comparisons | 410 |
Notes | 417 |
Bibliography | 473 |
Index | 537 |
Other editions - View all
Matters of Exchange: Commerce, Medicine, and Science in the Dutch Golden Age Harold John Cook No preview available - 2007 |