T R O I S I È M E P A R T I E
COMMUNICATION ENVOYÉE
D . J. S tru ik
THE INFLUENCE OF MERCANTILISM ON COLONIAL SCIENCE IN AMERICA
I
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Settlem ent of N orth America w as contem porary w ith th e gradual estab lish m en t in W estern Europe of a m ercan tile society, in which an early capitalism was developing a s th e dom inant form of economy. Encouraged by the w eakening of th e Spanish a n d P ortuguese em pires, and growing in pow er at home, influential sections of th e haute bour geoisie becam e engaged in th e charterin g of monopolies for tra d e overseas. O ften th e crow n itself w as interested, a n d so w ere those feudal lords who w ere w illing to stoop from lan d to money. A nd it occurred to the shareholders in these monopolies th a t th eir purpose could best be served b y th e settling of colonies.
Once a colony was established, on th e St. Law rence, th e New E ngland coast, on th e H udson riv er o r in Virginia, tirade could flourish thro u g h fisheries, trapping, th e grow ing of cash crops a n d th e cu ttin g o f tim ber, -and p erhap s m ining. The w eakened condition of th e once flow ering A frican countries m ade it possible to introduce N egro slaves w here Indians w ere driven out. A nother source of labour w ere ind en tu red w hite servants. There was also free labour, especially in th e N o rth ern colonies, an d in th e cities w ere craftsm en and artisans. Along th e coast ship building developed. Those Europeans who- surv iv ed th e first agonies of snow, scurvy, starv atio n and w arfare w ere a stu rd y lot, o ften led by highly intelligent and cu ltu red men. They succeeded in building stable social stru ctu re s in close im itation of th e ir hom eland, w ith those changes which th e conditions of the n ew country imposed.
The grow th of th e settlem en ts was unequal. The B ritish colonies, based on ag ricu lture and shipping a n d th e d estruction of th e Indians, grew as a ru le m uch fa ster and w ere m ore stab le th a n th e F ren ch colonies, m ainly based on the fu r tra d e (in which th e Indians functioned as despised partners). Towns of considerable im portance developed,
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i
such as Quebec, Boston, N ew port, New York, Philadelphia, Charleston, but even a t th e end of ithe X V IIIth cen tu ry en estim ated nine te n th of the population w as engaged in agricu lture, accom panied b y fu r tra d e on the frontier. The b u lk of the products, fur, grains, tobacco, o r cattle was for th e local as w ell as th e European m arket. W hether you w e re an Indian on the frontier, a corn or hog raiser on the Connecticut, a p la n ter in V irginia or even a Spanish ran ch er on th e Rio Grande, you w orked for th e sale of your products. The w ealthy m erchant in th e coastal tow n trad ed in th e commodities of th e whole world, not excepted hum an beings. A favorite sport w as la n d speculation.
A t first, foreign tra d e and colonization in England, France and Hol land was ^carried o u t b y p riv ate monopolies ch a rte re d by the state. W ith the consolidation of the states into pow erful bureaucratic organism s, m aintained by system atic taxation, th ese states began them selves to assum e th e character of monopolies in ten t on squeezing each o ther from the m a rk e ts of th e w orld. Trade policies becam e of param ount im portance. In th is system of com peting bu reaucratic states,, r u n toy mo neyed interests, already honeycom bed w ith capitalistic elements, m uch of the directness of personal relationships, typical of th e feudal period, w as lost. A n ab stract th eo ry of m ercantile en terp rise began to crystalize, political economy a n d statistics w ere born a n d w ith it m ercantilism developed as a th eo ry and as a practice.
N ot only in th e sp here of tra d e policies a n d in d u strial en terp rise abstract relationships ten d ed to supersede direct personal contact. W ar fare, from the point of view of statesm anship, becam e m ore an d more an alm ost im personal factor in the' w hole gam e of 'empire building. The science of nature, encouraged by th e m ercantile classes, becam e also m ore abstract and im personal. The an cien t teleology m ade room for causality, em phasis on q u ality gave w ay to' emphasis on quantity, a n d the p u re description of living th in gs w as replaced b y m ore rigorous classification. Instead of th e speculative philosophy of th e ancient m asters came th e precision of m athem atics, and w ith it a m echanical description of nature.
II
The m ercan tilist policy, w hich became th e guiding light of th e European statesm en of this period, was based, in th e m ain, on th e acqui sition of bullion b y trad e . To reach th is goal m ore had to be sold ab ro ad th an im ported, and this could be obtained by th e expansion of foreign trade. This foreign tra d e le d to th e so-called “balance of trad e”, w hich dom inated economic thinking. The b est export w as th a t of m anufac tu re d goods, th e best im port th a t o f ra w m aterials since such im p o rt
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had th e effect of stim ulating home m anufactures and w ith this again exp ort.
- This em phasis of tra d e over m anufacture, th is m etho d of considering in d u stries p rim arily as a m eans of obtaining bu llio n th rough m e rc an tile activ ity w as indicative of th e ru d im en ta ry stage of in d u stry ev en in th e countries 'with th e m ost advanced capitalism . As W illiam P e tty w rote in th e X V IIth century: “There is m ore to be gained by M an u factu re th a n Iby H usbandry, and by M erchandise m ore th a n by M an u factu re”. In d u strial production w as seen a s a necessity for th e circu latio n of goods ra th e r than, as in th e fu lly developed capitalism of la te r days, circu la tion as a necessity fo r the production of goods.
Colonies, in th e eye of th e “m o th er” country, th u s existed for o n e purpose only, an d th a t was as sources of ra w m aterial to advance th e balance of trad e . If gold an d silver could n o t be pressed im m ed iately out of th e soil or o f th e native population, th e n o th er metails, or fu rs r or tim ber, o r staples like tobacco, indigo and fish had to ta k e th e ir place. W hatever m ight have been th e personal m otives of the actu al colonial founders, w h eth er pirates, m erchants, o r religious leaders, th ey w e re h a rd ly m aterial to th e policy m akers att home, o r a t m ost of secondary im portance as long as th e revenue came in. A w hole series of m easures attem p ted prevention of th e grow th of colonial m anufactures, an o th er series encouraged th e o u tp u t of ra w m aterials a n d the channeling o f the export a n d im port into th e ships a n d p o rts of th e m other c o u n try . It is am azing to discover how m an y m an u factu res still m anaged to exist un der colonial rule, especially in P ennsylvania.
_ III
The science of th e m ercan tilist epoch reflects in form and c o n ten t th e dom inant tra its of its economy a n d th e a ttitu d e of th e haute bour geoisie, th e m erch an t p atricia te a n d ithose feudal, absolutist a n d clerical elem ents w hich w ere w illing to support m ercantilism . This new class, fu ll o f confidence, looked to science for su p p o rt in its quest for th e dom ination of n a tu re a n d th e prom otion of in v ention useful for its ends. This new science w as based on the new m echanical philosophy, a n d th is again w as based on m athem atics.
The m ain participating countries w ere England, F rance a n d H olland, w here the new com m ercial-capitalist classes w ere ab le to stru g g le for a dom inant position. Since th e y w ere also the m ain colonizing countries in E astern N orth America, th e influence of the new philosophy can also be trac ed here, if only w ith a lag in intensity. In th e leading countries wihole new (sciences sprang into being, an d o th ers lik e astronom y w e re fundam entally changed. In th e w ake of thds transform ation, b u t m o re slow ly and w eaker in its rev o lutionary effect, cam e a new flo w erin g
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of th e sciences connected w ith m inerals, anim als a n d plants, as w ell as anatom y a n d medicine.
M uch of this scientific developm ent w as stim u lated by th e necessities of foreign trad e. Since shipping constituted the v ery backbone of this trade, w e see exceptional a tte n tio n paid to th e sciences a n d techniques w hich bear on transoceanic navigation, o r which are influenced b y it in th e ir turn . Thus w e find a deep in terest paid to astronom y, mechanics, calculus, certain branches of physics such as optics and m agnetism , to cartography a n d in stru m en t m aking. This is, of course, n o t to say th a t th e req uirem ents of navigation w ere th e only, o r ev en th e principal, factors stim ulating th e exact sciences du ring this era, We have alread y observed how q uan titativ e thinking p erm eated th e whole of “n atu ra l philosophy”. B ut w henever w e look in to th e m otives of th e scientists a n d those of th e princes an d o th er m ag istrates w ho p atronized -their work, w e find g reat atte n tio n paid to the needs of navigation in peace and w ar. We need only th in k o f th e foundation of G reenw ich observatory in 1676 and th e observatory at P a ris (1666—71), of th e experim ents of H uy gens on pendulum clocks, or of sections of N ew ton’s Principia, to see th e influence of the needs of navigation on scientific endeavour.
It w as also quite n a tu ra l in a system w hich dem anded the production of ra w m aterials in foreign countries th a t n atu ral history began to flourish. A lthough th e accounts of th e trav e lle rs o ften expressed th e am azem ent of th e au th o rs a t seeing bison®, hum m ing birds (calibris), rattlesn ak es o r cactus, th e y alw ays stressed th e u tilita ria n aspect of th e ir discoveries. Even a p u rely scientific characterization of a p la n t or anim al seldom om its th e use o r p o ten tial use of its object. The settlers them selves d id not only look for useful n ativ e plants or anim als, but also im ported those of Europe a n d Asia which m ight th riv e in th e ir p a rt of the New World. The n a tu ra lists of those days w ere n ev er very fa r from th e farm , th e h u n t, o r th e garden.
/ U tilitarian science, however, cannot stand on its ow n legs w ithout deteriorating. It h as to branch o u t in to domains w h ere usefulness b e comes secondary a n d finally im m aterial. The scientific m ind begins to desire understanding for its own sake, a n d its in stin ct is healthy, since only in this w ay can deeper levels of tru th be reached. N autics an d geography need theoretical m athem atics, optics a n d astronom y. A gricul
tu re and stock-breeding also need disinterested research, to which gardening adds its ow n share.
This tre n d can lead to g reat achievem ents w hen th e re exists a ru lin g class m aster of sufficient su rp lu s and leisu re to cu ltiv ate th e sciences for th e ir ow n sake and to' establish academ ies and gardens staffed w ith ex pert m en of science. Such conditions w ere em inently realized in the Europe of th e colonizing period, an d also began to prevail in sąch cities a s P hiladelphia a n d Boston. W ealthy am ateurs, virtuosi and academic
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ians vied w ith philosophers an d in stru m en t m ak ers in attack in g n a tu re ’s secrets. Yet, despite a ll this search for knowledge, m ercan tilist science n ev er for long lost sight of its p ractical aspects, especially in th e colonies. In some w ay o r ano th er we are alw ays aw are of th e balance of tra d e behind th e science of th e period.
IV
W hen w e stu d y colonial science we are stru ck by its dependence on th e hom e country, be it France, G reat B ritain or Spain, as w ell as by th e accuracy in w hich it fits in to th e r a th e r n a rro w fram e in to w hich we have trie d to place m ercantilist science. Science in Europe, grow ing o u t of m edieval and ancient theories an d practices u nder a host of different 'national, philosophical an d religious traditions, h ad m an y facets w hich for th e ir understanding n eed m ore th a n an economic form ula alone. The form ula, however, appears sufficient to grasp th e ch ara cter o f m ost colonial science. A considerable am ount of it can be classified a;s “N ew tonian” an d “L m naean”, n otably in th e X V IIIth cen tu ry , alth o ug h th e w ork of th e geographers and th e p la n t 'collectors of th e previous cen tu ry leads up to it. X V IIIth c e n tu ry astronom ers in A m erica liv ed an d died w ith th e ir Newton, and Ithose <w orking in n a tu ra l h isto ry k n ew no g reater glory th an recognition by th e sage of Uppsala.
This stress on N ew tonian and Linn a e an science did n o t exclude a m ore general curiosity, especially among th e P hiladelphian em ulators of th e virtuosi of th e 'Royal Society, n o r d id it exclude special studies of physic ia n s educated in th e schools of Boerhaave o r Cullen. However, w hen we th in k of colonial science in N orth A m erica th e first nam es th a t come to m ind m ay w ell be F ranklin, Rittenhouse, W inthrop, Sarrazdn, G arden, B artra m o r Kino, a n d th e only one o f th e m Whose w ork tran scen d s th e ^‘N ew tonian” or “L innaean” p a tte rn is th a t of F ranklin, whose w ork on static electricity began to pass beyond th e orthodox m e rc an tilist frame.
The dependence of colonial science on Europe w as due to th e re la tiv e sim plicity of colonial life, w h ere even th e w ealth y w ere not too far rem oved from th e idirect stru g gle w ith n atu re, th e relative sm allness o f the leisu red classes an d th e fact th a t science in Europe m oved so fast th a t few m en in the colonies could keep up w ith it, especially in m athem atics an d mechanics. The in itiative usu ally came from those Europeans who had an in terest in America, like m em bers of th e Royal S ociety o r th e Académie des Sciences (and, in th e A laska region, the St. P etersb u rg Academy). Even in the case of F ran k lin ’s w ork on elec tricity, the only m ajor field w h ere A m erica laid dow n th e law to th e Europeans, th e first stim ulation cam e from P e te r Gollimson in London. The great geographical explorations of Cortès, M arquette, La Salle,
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Kino, H earne, V ancouver a n d o th ers w ere u nd er European auspices, th e n a tu ra lists w ere o ften Europeans o n a trav ellin g assignm ent, as H ernandez, Catesby o r Kalm, o r had commissions to collect for European gardeners, as h ad th e B artram s. The leading physicians had th e ir degree from a European university, ev en a fte r th e foundation of th e P h ila delphia m edical school in 1762.
Inside th e lim itations imposed by th e ir colonial sta tu s th e achieve m ents of th e A m erican scientists w ere considerable, an d deserved the appreciation received from Paris, London, Leiden or Uppsala. The cartographic w ork of a F ran q u elin or Evans, th e astronom ical oblserva- tions1 of a W inthrop or Rittenhouse, th e paleontological discoveries of a. Longueil o r Croughan, th e botanical 'collections o f Clayton or th e B artram s, th e m edical councils of a M organ o r Rush, not to spealk of th e stim ulation rad iatin g from F ranklin, compare w ell w ith th a t of
distinguished contem poraries in Europe.
D uring th e X V IIth c e n tu ry a few in stitu tio n s of h ig h er learning h ad been created. The Jesu it college a t Québec a n d th e P u rita n college at Cam bridge (H arvard), both founded in 1635—36, joined th e already w ell established universities of Mexico a n d Lima. W illiam and M ary College in V irginia dates from 1692. To these colleges w ere added, in th e X V IIIth cen tu ry colonial idays, Y ale a t N ew H aven i(1700), th e colleges a t P rin ceton (1746) an d P h iladelphia (1749), K ing’s College in New York (1754, now Columbia U niversity) and some others. A ll these colleges ta u g h t som e science. In loose contact w ith them w ere a num ber of a m ateu r astronom ers a n d botanists, carto graphers a n d explorers, su r veyors and navigators, experim enters in electricity, in stru m en t m akers, physicians an d scientifically inclined theologians such as th e M athers in Boston. In and around Philadelphia th e y found th e ir center in th e A m erican Philosophical Society, founded in 1743, followed by th e Ame rican Academ y of A rts and Sciences in 'Boston (1780). The tra n sit of Venus of 1769 show ed th a t those who- practised astronom y w ere aibie to en ter into a close collaboration w ith each o th e r a n d w ith European scientists.
V
The scientific activities of th e A m ericans fitte d in to th a t general p a tte rn w hich gradually became m ore visible When th e X V IIIth cen tu ry grew older, a n d w hich w e can call th e em ergence of A m erican natio nalism. The activities of th e astronom ers, botanists, geographers a n d ho rticu lturists passed beyond th e n arro w lim its set by th e p articu lar colonies. Easier travelling, g reater educational facilities, an intercolonial postal system m ade communications easier. W hen th e P hiladelphians
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•decided to found a- scientific society, th e y did no t call it th e P en n sy l vanian, buit the A m erican Philosophical Society. Not o n ly in th e ir political activity, b u t also in th e ir scientific in terests F ranklin, Jefferso n and W ashington rwere n ot provincials, b u t “A m ericans” and a s such they w ere m em bers of th e in tern atio n al rep u b lic of a rts a n d le tters. We can detect a sim ilar tre n d in th e Spanish a n d in th e F rench speaking sections of th e N ew World. We recognize a characteristic typical of m any la te r anti-colonialist struggles, in w hich th e X V IIIth eenltury A m erica set the pace fo r m uch Which is happening to day in o th e r p arts of th e w orld.
