Imperial unknowns : the French and British in the Mediterranean, 1650-1750

In this major new study, the history of the French and British trading empires in the early modern Mediterranean is used as a setting to test a new approach to the history of ignorance: how can we understand the very act of ignoring - in political, economic, religious, cultural and scientific communication - as a fundamental trigger that sets knowledge in motion? Zwierlein explores whether the Scientific Revolution between 1650 and 1750 can be understood as just one of what were in fact many simultaneous epistemic movements and considers the role of the European empires in this phenomenon. Deconstructing central categories like the mercantilist 'national', the exchange of 'confessions' between Western and Eastern Christians and the bridging of cultural gaps between European and Ottoman subjects, Zwierlein argues that understanding what was not known by historical agents can be just as important as the history of knowledge itself. "In this major new study, the history of the French and British trading empires in the early modern Mediterranean is used as a setting to test a new approach to the history of ignorance: how can we understand the very act of ignoring--in political, economic, religious, cultural and scientific communication--as a fundamental trigger that sets knowledge in motion? Zwierlein explores whether the Scientific Revolution between 1650 and 1750 can be understood as just one of what were in fact many simultaneous epistemic movements and considers the role of the European empires in this phenomenon. Deconstructing central categories like the mercantilist 'national, ' the exchange of 'confessions' between Western and Eastern Christians and the bridging of cultural gaps between European and Ottoman subjects, Zwierlein argues that understanding what was not known by historical agents can be just as important as the history of knowledge itself"--Résumé de l'éditeur "In this major new study, the history of the French and British trading empires in the early modern Mediterranean is used as a setting to test a new approach to the history of ignorance: how can we understand the very act of ignoring--in political, economic, religious, cultural and scientific communication--as a fundamental trigger that sets knowledge in motion? Zwierlein explores whether the Scientific Revolution between 1650 and 1750 can be understood as just one of what were in fact many simultaneous epistemic movements and considers the role of the European empires in this phenomenon. Deconstructing central categories like the mercantilist 'national, ' the exchange of 'confessions' between Western and Eastern Christians and the bridging of cultural gaps between European and Ottoman subjects, Zwierlein argues that understanding what was not known by historical agents can be just as important as the history of knowledge itself"--Provided by publisher 01.0_pp_i_ii_Imperial_Unknowns 02.0_pp_iii_iii_Imperial_Unknowns 03.0_pp_iv_iv_Copyright_page 04.0_pp_v_vi_Contents 05.0_pp_vii_vii_Figures 06.0_pp_viii_x_Acknowledgements 07.0_pp_xi_xi_Note_on_Conventions 08.0_pp_xii_xiv_Glossary 09.0_pp_1_19_Introduction 10.0_pp_20_116_Politics_and_Economy_Nationalizing_Economics 11.0_pp_117_184_Religion_Empires_Ignoring_Learning_Forgetting_Religions 12.0_pp_185_254_History_How_to_Cope_with_Unconscious_Ignorance 13.0_pp_255_309_Science_Mediterranean_Empires_and_Scientific_Unknowns 14.0_pp_310_324_Conclusion 15.0_pp_325_378_Bibliography 16.0_pp_379_400_Index At the intersection of the history of knowledge and science, of European trade empires and the Mediterranean, this major new empirical study presents a new method for understanding the history of ignorance across politics, religion, history and science during the early Enlightenment. This book offers a new approach to understanding the history of ignorance across politics, religion, history and science during the early Enlightenment This work offers a new approach to understanding the history of ignorance across politics, religion, history and science during the early Enlightenment