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The Royal Society, natural history and the peoples of the ‘New World(s)’, 1660–1800

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  15 April 2009

JOHN GASCOIGNE
JOHN GASCOIGNE
Affiliation:
School of History and Philosophy, University of New South Wales, Sydney, NSW 2052, Australia. Email: [email protected].
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Abstract

This paper focuses on the response of the Royal Society to the increasing contact with parts of the globe beyond Europe. Such contact was in accord with the programme of Baconian natural history that the early Royal Society espoused, but it also raised basic questions about the extent and nature of the pursuit of natural history. In particular, the paper is concerned with the attention paid to one particular branch of natural history, the study of other peoples and their customs. Such scrutiny of other peoples in distant lands raised basic questions about what methods natural history should employ and the extent to which it could serve as a foundation for more general and theoretical claims. By taking a wide sweep from the beginnings of the Royal Society until the end of the eighteenth century it is hoped light will be shed on the changing understanding of natural history over this period.

Type
Research Article
Information
The British Journal for the History of Science , Volume 42 , Issue 4 , December 2009 , pp. 539 - 562
Copyright
Copyright © 2009 British Society for the History of Science

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