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 Harold J. Cook scrutinizes a wealth of historical documents relating to the study of medicine and natural history in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Asia during this era, and his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 39
... allowed for growing oats and barley in quantity (although not much wheat and rye), with the surplus exported most efficiently in barrels after the conversion of the grain into beer and ale. Along with the Basques, the coastal ...
... allowed very different things to be made comparable through a system of negotiation, and it was therefore valuable in itself. And through it, otherwise incomparable values embodied in things themselves could be turned into number, and ...
... allowed not only money but goods to be traded in a similar way, as bills of exchange developed. By 1541 these had developed into legally enforceable promises to hand over specified goods to anyone possessing the bill. Both promissory ...
... allowed the payment of interest on debts while prohibiting monopolies because they threatened the ability to make money from freely contracted enterprises.57 All kinds of economic activity, including collaborative undertakings such as ...
... allowed and in coordination with the state. It was no easy matter to do, however: the Heren XVII had to plan for the building, fitting-out, provisioning, and manning of ships sent out each year, the sale of goods brought back to The ...
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 |