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 Harold J. Cook scrutinizes a wealth of historical documents relating to the study of medicine and natural history in the Netherlands and elsewhere in Europe, Brazil, South Africa, and Asia during this era, and his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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... 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 Iberian Peninsula. In turn, the ''mother-trade'' of the economy brought ...
... traveled in the lands of the eastern Mediterranean and composed a work in Greek best known as the Materia medica (the ''Matters of medicine''), describing plants, animals, and minerals and their medical uses. The famous printer of ...
... traveled to Paris, where he immersed himself in the new Hippocratism. The connection between the Hippocratic appeal to the eyes and anatomy is still found in modern languages, as in the English ''autopsy,'' which had become commonly ...
... traveled for necessity, education, or the acquisition of wealth: travelers broke old habits of life in the process of encountering new people, places, and customs. Archaic legends throughout the world told of lifealtering journeys. A ...
... traveled widely in Europe in his youth and lived outside France for most of his adult life, wrote, ''I have recognized through my travels that those with views quite contrary to ours are not on that account barbarians or savages, but ...
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 |