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 Harold J. Cook scrutinizes a wealth of historical documents relating to the study of medicine and natural history in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Asia during this era, and his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
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... sent back specimens. Apothecaries eagerly accumulated information about the goods that passed through their shops, displayed strange bits of nature to draw in customers and demonstrate their command of information about the world, and ...
... sent from the Mediterranean to the North Sea or the Baltic often traveled through this region. Near the coast, goods brought by river could be put aboard seagoing ships to reach the British Isles, Scandinavia, the Baltic, and the ...
... sent to him that were no longer living and so not suitable for his garden.87 The association between apothecaries and natural history became legendary, with their shops often depicted with stuffed crocodiles and other bits of. The museum ...
... sent to The Hague and copied to other Dutch cities. By the 1590s and early seventeenth century, brokers can be found who made their living from collecting and sending specified newsletters to their clients, with regularly printed and ...
... (partenrederijen), each Dutch fleet was in competition with every other one trading in Asia, including those sent out by compatriots. Such temporary companies acted according to a familiar contractual arrangement: An Information Economy 61.
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 |